Cup of Harmony 82 [rosters/RPs/scores]

[Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom]

RekanSport
Cup Of Harmony 82; Match One Was Easy, Match Two Is Another Story
By Xaver Lulling

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Zeta Reka avoided reduced tension in their national team's fate by besting Saint Eleanor. With a single goal, Lu Jialan's players put themselves in the top half of their group. Now Zeta Reka's best face a major opponent in what should be an emotional matchup for ones who live for the yellow and red.

RekanSport Statbox

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Cup of Harmony 82, Group C, Match 1
Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom 1–0 Saint Eleanor

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ZRH: Scwartzhammer 39'

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Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom
Starters: Wukowić — Djordjewić, Krušlin, Wlad Wlad, Gabrielstein, Kewić — Gröss, Rekawić, Ulrich — Scwartzhammer, Rawić (C)
Substitutes: Krušlin -> Hafner (62'), Ulrich -> Dorboslawić (76')

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Saint Eleanor
Starters: Bailey — Gregory, Ferry, West (C), Davies — Trott, Donald, Martin, Williams — O'Donnell, CPL. Harris
Substitutes: Gregory -> Johnson (45'), Donald -> Parkinson (71')

The Estadio Municipal Alina Pacheco Girón in the city of Cotata was where Zeta Reka kicked off their latest Cup of Harmony. For game one, the White Stars of Saint Eleanor were the opposition. Eleanor looked to improve on the 81st Cup of Harmony, where they just barely sat at their group's bottom. Neither side was tactically destined to dominate the game. Both sides has a mindset geared to defense, and as a result the opening of the game wasn't exciting.

Minor chances came to both sides. No one could convert his or her chance, and scorecards remained barren. Zeta Reka's play was the opposite of Saint Eleanor's. One side pushed aggressively in brief yet passionate drives, another prioritized possession while slowly shuffling the ball. No athletes on either side could seemingly deliver a goal. In the later minutes of the first half, Scwartzhammer's head was put to good use. Scwartzhammer's physicality lead to a goal. Minutes later both sides went the locker room and Zeta Reka confidently strutted back out for the second half.

An hour into the game, Saint Eleanor were awarded a corner. A crisp kick from Harriet Williams required Karlo Gabrielstein to awkwardly defend, but the mosh pit for the ball ended with Rekan keeper Zlatko Wukowić standing tall. Veteran Aidan Harris had an equalizing shot late, but it wasn't enough. Zeta Reka's Sigmund Hafner was the last player who touch the ball before the final whistle. While Zeta Reka had won, but it wasn't by a lot. The team was pleased overall,

RekanSport Minibox

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Cup of Harmony 82, Group C

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MD1: Starblaydia 6-2 Delaclava — ZR&H 1-0 St. Eleanor
MD2: Delaclava vs. St. Eleanor — Starblaydia vs. ZR&H
MD3: ZR&H vs. Delaclava — St. Eleanor vs. Starblaydia

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Nation         GP  W  D  L  GF GA GD PT
1 Starblaydia   1  1  0  0   6  2 +4  3
2 ZR&H          1  1  0  0   1  0 +1  3
3 St. Eleanor   1  0  0  1   0  1 -1  0
4 Delaclava     1  0  0  1   2  6 -4  0

“Zeta Reka performed well,” analyst and television presenter Djoko Weljkowić told the nation on RekaTV, “The players were able to draw first blood, and the overall solidity of the side prevented any damages.” Criticism against Zeta Reka's performance was pushed by former skipper Marko Dusan, though it was lighter than some past comments. “Everyone played hard,” the Baptism of Fire 72 runner up said that “Scoring just once from those attacks was concerning for me,” Dusan added that, “These players should have collected two or three goals, and it would improve long term group positioning.” Starblaydia are group the leaders after a beautiful and action-packed game. Zeta Reka are thus in second.


The next game in the group is against group leaders Starblaydia. The aforementioned “beautiful” matchup between Starblaydia Delaclava and was won by the Cup's highest ranked side. Starblaydia's performance on paper now matched tournament seeding. The game will not be the first ever STB-ZRH encounter. Many years ago a wild high scoring draw with Rekan and Starblaydi players reached headlines worldwide. Each side scored six times. Zeta Reka had an opportunity to score their biggest win to that point, and came up just short. “I hat tricked them,” Bogdan Rawić said to a camera wielding MR (or MassenmedienRupert) tabloid reporter, “Still vexes me that we did not win... I'll take them on myself if I need to.” Barto “BM” Milosawljewić had joking words to say about that classic game, “The match inspired me not to get into bricklaying. I though back then ‘if these defenders can have a job, I can also become a superstar.’”

Starblaydia were once described by RekanSport editor Ljubomira Jewrić as, “A team of athletic polymaths.” Jewrić also penned that Starblaydia were, “Specializing in steak attacks with the skillset to lack weaknesses at the Cup of Harmony level.” Players like Mildenhall, Veno, and legend Andvar Galdarhim are astute defenders. A player like Hassan Al Faizan is proving quite adept on attack at the global level, and captain Sam Roshanak is eager to max out his scoring numbers. Zeta Reka will be healthy coming into the game, with hungry players like Jakow Krstowić and Nikola Branić on the bench possibly making their first appearances of the tournament.

Tactically, the game will be a duel of contrasting styles. Starblaydia's use of a four player backline and front trident wouldn't look out of place in Zeta Reka's top sides, but with Ázëwyn Fëanáro empowering two midfielders to play as a double pivot. Attacking Starblaydia starts while on defense. If a team doesn't break apart Starblaydia's momentum, the latter side's class can be unstoppable. Pressing is Zeta Reka's game, and that could be the one thing which keep the Rekans viable. Forcing the opposition out wide will reduce choices, and force Starblaydia into playing Zeta Reka's game. From advantages opportunities will spring forth, but finishes must become more clinical, otherwise Zeta Reka may be stuck on one goal against a team which is likely to score.

Amusingly, Rekan sports betting company SlobodnoVreme gave the Rekan's 1:6 odds of winning, that number loves showing up when Starblaydia is around.

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RekanSport Top 6:

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• Cup Of Harmony 82; Match One Was Easy, Match Two Is Another Story Special Free Article
• Ogroven's People of Sport Editorial by First Deputy Jurica Vasiljević
• Cup of Harmony 82 Preview Special Free Article
• Transfer rumors; Aleiusia, Porto Nowi, and more!
• Former NT player hints at basketball comeback
• Construction of new indoor arena in Porto Nowi stalls

Free Articles remaining this month: 5

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[Acastanha]

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1 Point That Save the Day

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In any competition, the first match is always the crucial one. It will build up the players confidence and how they view the entire competition will be. And with facing New Lusitania in the first match, it is a big deal for Acastanha national football team.

The Lusitanian play offensively in the start of the match. They were really eager to win in this first match. This might be to save them from their second match against the pot 1, Mercedini. But the offensive play was really overwhelmed, Acastanhada defense. Lusitanian attackers success to breach Acastanhada defense several times although the earlier shots were still off the goal bar. But the luck were not on Acastanha side. The Lusitanian success to scored 2 goals in the first half. While Acastanha able to steal a single goal just a few minutes before the referee blow the whistle.

Starting the second half, Lusitanian change their way of play. They were getting a little defensive to maintain their 2-1 lead in the first half. While Acastanha give an offensive approached to push for a draw. But Lusitanian defense was so great that Acastanhada players failed to cross the line. Some of Acastanhada chances to scored were failed by the defender or the goalkeeper. The match was getting more exciting as the time ticking to the end. The Lusitanian seems to out of their guard when Acastanhada players initiated a surprise counter attack. Lusitanian defenders were quick to assemble on their line but Acastanhada attackers were already on their door. What it seems to be a fast counter attack quickly turn into a pass on game as Acastanhada attackers try to find a chance to shot. Devastated with no clear chance, Gothrado abruptly shot a volley to the goal. The ball bounce above the air and the defender failed to blocked it with his head. Lusitanian goalkeeper quickly response with a jump to the left corner of his goal. No one knows if it just a lucky shots or maybe Gothrado has calculated it, but the ball went through between the goalkeeper open hand and strike Lusitanian goal on its top left side.

Gothrado scream in happiness as his long shot turn into a surprising goal. The other players give him a hug as all of them stumble on the field and turn into a stack of people. On the hand, the Lusitanian players look hopeless for that last minutes goal. And for the next 6 minutes including added times, no goal was scored. The match end in 2-2 draw.

The result give a relieve for Acastanha team and football fans. One point for a draw is a decent start to face their next opponent, Alezian Union. Rank wise, it would be an easy match for Acastanha but as the words say the ball is round so anything can happen. The team have to stay focus for their upcoming match.

[Wrecker]

THE END OF WRECKERIA – PART XI

The Upper House, Hapilopper City, Hapilopper
A few days before Cup of Harmony 82 Match 1: Wreckeria 1-1 Omerica
This blustery afternoon felt different from normal. In Halsted, the mood almost resembled that of a funeral – after all, it was the day that the Hapiloppian Upper House would decide whether or not to consolidate Wreckeria’s government into Hapilopper’s. With their approval, Presidents Arnold Martin and William Mathis of Wreckeria and Hapilopper would sign a joint document that would officially make Wreckeria a part of Hapilopper while a transition period would get started for Wreckerians to become integrated into their new nation. If the upper house voted against it, the matter was over and Wreckeria would remain an independent, but badly flailing, nation.

To give some kind of idea of what kind of mood the Wreckerians were in, the Wreckerian National Football Team had traveled to the Licentian Isles for the Cup of Harmony, but Wreckerians everywhere weren’t incredibly bothered. Sure, they were hoping the Wreckerian Bulldogs would do something magnificent over Pluvia and the Saxean Isles, Valladares and Omerica, but that was the farthest from their mind. And it wasn’t because of the fear that Wreckeria as an independent nation would cease to exist. It was because of the fear that Wreckeria as an independent nation wouldn’t cease to exist, and they would be left with the same problems they were currently facing.

While the Lower House had passed the consolidation agreement, the vote was closer than a lot of Wreckerians wanted, and Billy Bischoff, the Conservative from Border City who called Wreckerians “savages” had made a lot of noise, as many expected, leading up to the vote. Bischoff accused the Speaker of the Hapiloppian Lower House, Laurent Willis, and President William Mathis, of censoring his voice, saying that he spoke for the majority of Hapiloppians when he said that Wreckerians were not welcome in Hapilopper.

Bischoff even threatened to hold a major demonstration on Hamilton Square during Hapilopper’s first World Cup match if the Upper House approved the vote.
And, if you would watch some media outlets, you’d believe that the vote was going to fail in the Upper House. At least, that’s what some talking heads wanted everyone to believe. On one news channel, a news channel that favored Conservative voices, Billy Bischoff was a hero, someone who had been victimized by the Liberal Hapiloppian government. To them, William Mathis was going to destroy Hapilopper if he let those Wreckerian savages in, and he needed to be ousted as Hapiloppian President as soon as humanly possible.

The reality, however, was a little different. Billy Bischoff had been seen by many Hapiloppians as one of the biggest wingnuts in Hapiloppian politics, and as a result, the anti-consolidation movement had actually lost a little bit of ground with Bischoff firing off his mouth as much as he did. And more than a few Conservatives had come around for consolidation. One key member of the Upper House, James Harvey, a Conservative representing Buckridge, even explained why.

“See, I feel like there’s some simple logic here,” Harvey started. “The other day, I heard Billy Bischoff shoot his mouth off about how Wreckerians are savages. I don’t buy that. I heard him talk about how Wreckerians just thrived on war. I don’t buy that. They’ve been at war for 60 years. They’re tired of it. They’ve been at war because their situation has never improved. It’s only gotten worse. Every time we’ve heard of an incident involving the Wreckerians, honestly, it was because they were looking for a way to better themselves. Sometimes when you’re down, it comes through your mind that you have to reach deep down and do something absolutely terrible for the good of your people. Without the wars, Wreckerians don’t pull dumb stunts in our nation. If they were in a better way, they wouldn’t have acted out the way they did. They wouldn’t have gone to war or stayed at war. And they truly feel, in their heart of hearts, that their best way of getting out of this cycle of poverty, war and devastation, is to hitch their wagons with us.”

Harvey looked down at his notes and looked at the rest of the Upper House, who were watching him intently.

“About 250 years ago, five men founded a nation on the ideals of personal freedom, prosperity, civil rights, and on the dream of being the best you can be,” Harvey continued. “Those men, Hank Anderson, Peter Idleman, Larry Olmstead, Patrick Parsons and Edwin Reasoner founded Hapilopper as a diamond in the rough, an oasis in the desert, a place where we could truly prosper in the worst of times. The Hapiloppian dream is to live life the best way you can every day of the week. Every time I’ve gotten to speak to people from Wreckeria, whether it’s here or there, they’ve spoken of how tired they are of seeing devastation every day. They see what we do. They see us on a Friday night, living our lives to the absolute fullest, having the most fun we could possibly have, and they wish they could have a life like that. You can’t blame them for that. I guarantee you, if they had the same standard of living in Wreckeria that we do, they wouldn’t have come to us. They wouldn’t have asked to consolidate into us. This is a quality of life question, and it’s a question I’m willing to answer by saying, yes. Welcome. We’re glad to have you.”

Harvey had a point, and it resonated with the rest of the Conservatives in the Upper House. The point was, Wreckeria wasn’t doing this for the sake of putting one over on Hapilopper. How, anyway, would they benefit from that? The point was that Wreckeria had gone through so much over the years, their name was mud, and they were sick and tired of associating themselves with a nation that couldn’t get out of its own way on a daily basis.

There wasn’t much else that needed to be said. Not long after Harvey’s speech, the Upper House went to a vote, and passed the consolidation vote easily.

The President’s House, Halsted
5 minutes later
Arnold Martin and representatives from both the True Wreckerians and the Party of Pride were waiting in Arnold’s office, quietly waiting the results of the vote from the Upper House in Hapilopper, to see if Wreckeria would become a part of Hapilopper – the so-called “Hapilopper West Coast” as some had called it. There was excitement, sure, about what the vote could look like, especially after news came over the wire of James Harvey giving one hell of a speech that helped explain to people why Wreckeria needed this so much.

But for the most part, there was some anxiety. Arnold would look at the True Wreckerians or the Party of Pride, and representatives from each party would look at each other, and not think of a thing to say. They were just too nervous to think of anything. They didn’t want to jinx anything. If the vote went against them, they’d have to face with a reality of a Wreckeria with no hope for the future, a Wreckeria still struggling to make ends meet, and in fact, a Wreckeria that would go bankrupt and possibly face down a future with a different, less stable government.

But then, the wire started moving.

“What does it say? What is it?” people started asking.

BREAKING: Upper House approves consolidation vote. Wreckeria now a part of Hapilopper.

Arnold Martin took the strip of paper out of the wire and took a deep breath. It wasn’t official yet – Arnold and William Mathis had to sign the paperwork, but the fact was it was all but official. All that was left was the paperwork to be signed. He closed his eyes, quietly thanked a deity, and looked back at everyone in the room.
“Welcome to Hapilopper, everyone,” Arnold said quietly but clearly. “It passed.”

It was what the Party of Pride and the True Wreckerians wanted, but there was no celebration. Everyone nodded their heads and shook each other’s hand, a few even hugging. It was over. Wreckeria’s long history as an independent nation had come to an end, pending the signatures. From this moment forward, Wreckeria, its cities and its provinces would be a part of the Dominion of Hapilopper. It was a sad day for the Wreckerians, but the fact was, the time had come, and its time was up. The worst was over. Better days were ahead.

After the vote, William Mathis called Arnold up to congratulate him, and inform him that he was hoping to set up a signing ceremony in Halsted in a matter of days. Arnold agreed to that. At that point, Arnold Martin would sign away Wreckeria’s independence in a ceremony in Halsted, with representatives from the Wreckerian and Hapiloppian government.

When the call ended, Arnold asked everyone to please leave the room. He needed some time to himself. Everyone granted him that request, and Arnold shut the door. He sat by a window, looking out to downtown Halsted. For all intents and purposes, Halsted was no longer the capital of Wreckeria. It was just another Hapiloppian city. Arnold looked at some of the shabby buildings and wreckage in sight of the President’s House and wondered how it would look this time one year from now. Most likely, he figured, it would look livelier. More money would be in people’s pockets. Halsted residents would be able to enjoy their lives again, rather than worry about the constant specter of war, the ominous reminders of what had happened over the last 60 years, the economic devastation that had wrecked the lives of far too many people.

Arnold smiled. His time as the President of Wreckeria was nearing its end, just like his nation was nearing its end. But he wasn’t upset with it. He had saved his people from generations of poverty and devastation.

It had been a good day.

[Yue Zhou]

twenty-one hours after the events of this RP, and occurring before the events of all subsequent RPs in the NYK doc:

ZHANG ZHENLAN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Nangang City, the United Republics of Yuezhou

Doctor Luo Lijie was enjoying a well-deserved smoke break in the lounge when one of his nurses came running up to him. "He's awake," the nurse said simply, although the doctor noted that his hand was trembling. Doctor Luo couldn't blame the young man. The past few hours had been touch and go as their patient clung to life, but waking after a relatively short period was encouraging given how bad things had been initially. Things had been magnified by the...special nature of the case. Doctor Luo didn't normally work with government VIPs, but being the closest specialist working when the patient had initially fallen had put him in by default.

Presently, the doctor had arrived at the door to his patient's recovery room. He took a deep breath, steeled himself, and then opened the door.

"President Wu? My name is Doctor Luo Lijie. I am the specialist who will be taking care of you. Can you understand me?"

Not enough time had passed for the stroke to noticeably affect the President, at least physically. But lying down, he looked distinctly unstatesmanlike. At sixty-four years old, age had already begun to take its toll on President Wu, and for all his gravitas while upright, Lijie had a hard time connecting the prone figure in front of him to the First Leader of the United Republics. The President appeared to struggle for words for a moment, then conceded with a nod.

"You've had a stroke, President Wu. Luckily, treatment began almost immediately. There will be short-term effects, but with extensive therapy you should regain most functions. Do you understand?" Another nod, more tentative this time.

"It's very early, but the timetable for stroke victims who have had your sorts of symptoms is on the order of weeks, if not months. However, we are prepared to start immediately. We can bring a speech therapist to you in two hours. Is this acceptable?"

Another short nod, and Doctor Luo signaled to his nurse to contact the therapist before noticing that the President appeared to be struggling with something.

"President Wu? Are you alright?" the doctor's attention was then drawn to Wu Zhongsheng's right arm, making a slow and laborious trip to his head.

"President Wu?" The man's eyes were incandescent; it looked as if he was trying to kill his own finger. Finally, with great effort, he brought it to his lips.

"You would like for me to keep this a secret? President Wu, I'm afraid that in order to give you the care we need, we must-"

His voice trailed off as those fearsome eyes shifted focus from the finger to the doctor. President Wu Zhongsheng lowered his arm briefly, then re-extended a finger, dragging it slowly and laboriously across his throat...

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CUP OF HARMONY 82, MD1: Yuezhou 1 - 1 Mertagne
Starting Lineup: Lu; Jiawei, Li JG, Yuan (Zhu 61), Reeve; Li Jing (C), Wan, Wen (Tao 70); Luo (Jiang 67), Liu, Huang
Goals: Vantula 47, Huang 74

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Yuezhou will be a little disappointed not to be getting the full three points out of their opening CoH match, but after the disaster that was CoH 81 and an incredible seventy-three minutes of football from Mertagne, Ken Hayabusa will gladly take the draw. The match got off to a cracking start, emblematic of both teams' styles. While Mertagne aimed, as always, to draw first blood, they had to be careful not to leave too much space for the runs of Liu, Luo, Huang, and Wen. At the same time, the aforementioned attackers found it difficult to release themselves while the rest of the team was pinned back by the Anaians' ferocious attack. As a result, while both sides had a number of tantalizing chances, the match seemed to get bogged down towards the end of the first half, which concluded 0-0. Particularly wasteful was Huang Shedong, who latched onto a pair of beautiful through-balls from Li Jing but sent both wide, and Fabian Thundhart, who appeared to blame Vantula for a sumptuous cross that Thundhart somehow mishit behind him.

But while the Dragons seemed content to play the second half in the same way, Mertagne's 2-3-5 would strike almost immediately in the second half. It was the cerebral Neron Everdell to strip his counterpart Wan Sheping of the ball before sending a beautiful long pass that caught the defense napping. Things degraded into a footrace between Li Jianguo and Claudio Vantula, and although the Yueren was a step ahead of the striker, Vantula managed to bully him off the ball before driving forwards and flashing a low shot past Lu Qiang. Faced with the prospect of losing a critical match to start the Cup of Harmony, Ken Hayabusa finally opted to fight fire with fire with the insertions of Zhu Aiguo, Jiang Jieren, and Tao Beiliang. It was the final of these three that would end up paying off, as the Korsbach midfielder's pass between the lines was latched onto by Huang Shedong, who had apparently changed into his finishing boots mid-match, and whose close-range effort would secure a point for the Dragons.

[Southwest Eastnorth]

Jayson Rox paced around his office like any nervous human would do. He just phoned his boss and had a heated did discussion with them. Rox, for what felt like the thousandth time, had tried to convince his bosses at the SWENFA organization to add some new players to the National Teams roster. Every time though, the SWENFA rejected him on the basis of wanting to not mess with the roster till the next three year cycle.

This was the breaking point for Jayson although let's be fair, this was the breaking point for Jason's ego moreso.

two weeks later in Montana Verde

Jayson didn't show up for any of the PR events in MVE that were leading up to the CoH. Speculation arose that he had maybe gotten sick, but at the ame time none of the Pioneers players know anything about his condition either, aside from the few times they saw him at training. At training he still looked like a healthy young man and thus confusion had set in. The confusion soon settled 20 minutes before the match Jayson finally showed up. First thing eh did was call star striker Chris Houton

"I'm done Chris, I'm done being treated like this..."

"Hold up what? I thought you were ill, you're quitting?"

"Fuck it, I called these guys many times trying to get some damn roster changes goin and got shut out every damn time. I'm gonna show these assholes at SWENFA by dumping them last second....."

"Think about what you saying man, how long you been wanting to do this?"

"What,well....two weeks now?"

"Two weeks?"

"Yeah, hit them where it hurts, shock them last second, they must burn Chris! I hope you can do you best though, you're the new coach now."

"tell the rest of them"

"Fine fine I will...."

Jayson proceeded to walk int he room, yell "I quit" and leave, for a lot of people int hat room it was the last they ever saw of Mr. Rox....

a few minutes later Chris Houton walked in the room

"I guess I'm the coach now"

After some pausing to reflect on the situation, the team lined up to go out on the field. An attentive young reporter named Constanza Encarnación, who worked for GS SuperSports+ walked up to Chris. She had noticed Jayson wasn't there

"Mr Houton is Jayson ok?"

there was a small silence as Chris tried his hardest to figure out the most diplomatic answer possible.

"He's no longer with the team ma'am"

there was now a short silence from the reporter as the teams went out. The match went on as planned though and out of the gate Southwest Eastnorth looked the most competitive they had been since the Copa Rushmori two years ago. In the end the game was again a 2-2 draw. The game was given 4 minutes of extra time. about two minutes into that time, the Pioneers got a breakaway and Seb was the only thing stopping them. The floating energy ball had been a forward for a reason. He has no feet and thus Houton kicked a pass to Jessica Roth right under his feet and the game winner was socred at 90+3 and just like that Houton and his army had actually won the game!

ELECTRUM - 2
Android X4-TU in the shape of a flightless bird 55' (PK)
Renshaw 68'

SOUTHWEST EASTNORTH - 3
Roth 19' , 90+3'
Barnett III 61'

[Muralos]

La Gazeto de Sportoj
Muralosian National Soccer Team Draws 1-1 with Tikariot in Cup of Harmony
Hawks Are Tied For Second in Group A
By Adamo Tanaka and Jonathan Li

MEDEMANIA, MONTAÑA VERDE - On Tuesday, the Muralosian national soccer team played their first group stage match in the 82nd Cup of Harmony, the tournament for outstanding participants in the World Cup Qualifiers who were unable to qualify for the World Cup. The match, against Tikariot, was the first match a Muralosian soccer team has ever played in a Cup of Harmony, which is usually on the tail of the World Cup Qualifiers. Due to the immense fatigue of a World Cup qualifying run, Muralosian management's official policy had initially been to forgo ever participating in the Cup of Harmony, despite the opportunity it gives teams to rise in the world rankings. Muralosian head coach Jozefo Koltakov said in a press conference last Thursday that he decided to reverse the policy "because we are hungry for more, and even if this team takes another hiatus from the international stage, the Cup of Harmony is something that we would like to compete in first."

Having their first group stage match against Tikariot was intimidating to the Muralosian national team; in a post game interview, team captain Adamo Brava attested to feeling "anxious about the outcome, about Tikariot's rank [fifth highest in the entire Cup of Harmony] and World Cup experience [qualifying three times and reaching the Round of 16 once], and simply being preoccupied about all the things that I swore not to be preoccupied about." Sports analysts were bearish on the contest, too: La Gazeto de Sportoj's Klara Antonova found the Hawks had about a 36 percent chance of victory and a 31 percent chance that the match would be lost by four goals or more. (OOC: these numbers are entirely random and not based on KPB or xKoranate.)

Despite the challenge of facing a much more experienced and capable side, the Hawks kept up an actively attacking style of play, along with the 4-3-3 formation that Jozefo Koltakov began using in the 90th World Cup qualifiers. Left and right backs Ryo Takeda and Koralo Petrov occasionally joined the Muralosian midfield so that center backs Aleksandro Kim and Rikardo Lei could pass the ball forward to them, as opposed to fielding long balls to the attacking third. RTM-1 commentator Gao Hui noted that the Muralosian attack was "more close-knit and not as aerial as usual, with much tighter passes amongst themselves." In the 26th minute of the match, a bit of smooth passing among three players - Nikolaj Granda, Rikardo Lei, and Ryo Takeda - kicked off an attacking opportunity for the Hawks. Takeda made an assertive pass to Rikardo Lei, who accelerated past Tikariotan defender Xander Augustinsson and dished the ball over to Adamo Brava. Brava found Valora Lin, who sent the ball into the bottom left corner of the net, skimming the grass slightly. Lin fixed her eyes on the goal and did not celebrate at first, but she eventually ran over to embrace Brava as the rest of the Hawks ran over to huddle around them.

While the Muralosian national team was up 1-0 at half time, their lead was precarious, as the Tikariotan team did not stop creating chances. Under manager Brian McAllister, Tikariot also employed a flexible 4-3-3 formation; in the second half, all of their flexibility went towards bolstering the Tikariotan defense. The Hawks countered by taking more shots from range, but the strategy did not prove very effective: Johano Abramovich's shot in the 53rd minute hit the crossbar, while Galina Shchedrina – the Muralosian midfielder currently playing in Tikariot – had her two shots blocked by Tikariot's goalkeeper Brian Merson. At the 68th minute, Tikariot's Parris Langley took a corner that Adam Dodd headed into the Muralosian goal, readily beating Ryo Takeda and Aleksandro Kim. Tanya Lubimova reacted a split second late to the header, so Tikariot successfully equalized.

After the goal from Dodd, the rest of the Muralos-Tikariot match was frustrating for both the Hawks and the Snowy Owls. Both teams had their chances thwarted. The Snowy Owls faced difficulties when dealing with Muralosian defenders Aleksandro Kim, Rikardo Lei, and Rebeka and Aminda Mori. The Hawks frequently advanced the ball to their attacking third, only to have shots by Brava, Lin, and Rui blocked by Tikariotan defenders, along with shots by midfielders Georgo Zhong and Lerta Donaldson go wide. On the Muralosian side of the Estadio Departamental Patricio Ordóñez Berganza's stands, there were shouts of "du al unu [2-1]," in hopes that the Hawks would score again, but the match ended with no additional goals scored.

FULL TIME
Muralos 1 - 1 Tikariot
Valora Lin 26' | Adam Dodd 68'

At the end of the match, Muralosian players and management expressed feelings of satisfaction. In a post game interview, Valora Lin told La Gazeto de Sportoj that the outcome of the match was "surprisingly close when we thought we would be overpowered by Tikariot," and that her goal-scoring chance in the 26th minute was "almost completely unexpected but a thorough relief." Jozefo Koltakov said that for a match that the Hawks entered with "carefully guarded expectations," they performed "in such an enthusiastic, composed way." He also confirmed that the Hawks' 4-3-3 formation "is likely to endure in our future games."

The Muralosian national team next faces Cabo Azure on February 11th, again at the Estadio Departamental Patricio Ordóñez Berganza in Medemania. As with all Cup of Harmony group stage matches, the Muralos-Cabo Azure match will be broadcast live on the television channel RTM-1, the radio station FM 109.3, and the Internet streaming service rtmnet.mur.

[Kimi-Suomi]

Harmony-Kupissa time! Yes, it was finally time to see how little ol' Kimi-Suomi could do against the best nation in the sport that didn't make the World Cup itself. Esko Laaksonen promoted a sense of calm within us all, that this tournament was all about getting more experience in the bank against some of the more established nations in this sport, and that would certainly be the case today against the Elephants of Etelä Uusimaainen - or South Newlandia, to you and I. SNL was in transition from what we saw from their WCQ campaign and what we were expecting from this game at Barton Software Arena in Colesham, The Licentian Isles - gone was Robert Wolverine, +1 style and the 4-4-2 diamond and in its place came Dale Hartford-Phelps, a neutral style and a 4-3-3.

This would be the first game in charge for the manager from Zwangzug and to say that the job on his hands became apparent would certainly be an understatement - or maybe, you could feel everyone in SNL start to realise that the new changes would take time to be ingrained into these players. This game would certainly be closer than many would expect as Kimin Armeija played up to their higher-ranked opposition with such determination and turn what should've been an easy Elephant win into the Elephants and Huuhkajat duking it out in an unexpected duel in Licenlainen Saaret. The Elephants were still getting used to the new set up and while all three of Bjorn Cohen, Reid Gomez and Brandon Irving had their chances, Kauko Loukamaa and the back five we employ held firm with all their might. This game was begging for a breakthrough, a moment of pure bliss for one or the other - but what happened would certainly be a surprise to many in this tournament. 78th minute, free-kick for us and up stepped substitute Annina Tuominen - who proceeded to strike ball with such conviction past Olly Evans to give us the lead. No one knew she had that in her tank, especially her shocked twin sister Maria on the bench. The next few minutes would certainly be a siege but when that final whistle went, we couldn't quite believe what happened. Kimi-Suomella oli kaikista odottamattomin voitto. Huuhkajat olivat voittaneet Norsut.

To say we enjoyed that performance was certainly an understatement and it clearly showed. Now, we head over to Farnworth in order take on Schima Bas in a game that once was a chance for some good points was now a battle for control of the entire group. NOSTA KUIN HUUHKAJAT!

[HUElavia]

Well, this sucks.

HUElavia lose opening match to Valentine Z to a late goal to open up the Cup of Harmony.

HUElavia 2-3 Valentine Z
(Castilho 35', Lopes 71' | Madeline 22', 60', Katona 88')
(LTI Stadium, Montfort, The Licentian Isles)

XI vs Nyowani Kitara:
Lettmann, Regnard, Pujals, Coentrao, Larrangoz, Doisneau, Fonseca-Mantovani (C), Chanca, Torrisi, Yamane, Nascimento
Home Uniform will be worn.

Enterting the Cup of Harmony, HUElavia was seeking to ride a momentum they had in the Qualifiers to make a name for themselves in the Cup of Harmony. Throughout the team's history in the competition, Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos would have lackluster performances in their appearances and last at most for an extra round. This time around, being a more experienced team, they were hoping to start off on the right foot. Due to this talent the team boasted, Conavacio opted to play with the B-Team, having Casillas in goal and Castilho as the Captain for the match, in order to rest the A-Team for the bigger games coming up. In a packed LTI Stadium (75,000) in Montfort, the team was looking forward to starting off on the right foot.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. The opening goal came in the 22nd minute, when Katona gave a long pass to Madeline, who got past Pillpe and slid the ball past the fingertips of Casillas to roll the ball into the goal, making it 0-1. The Zs were jumping and cheering in the crowd, while Madeline was mobbed by her teammates for the opening goal, leaving the HUElavians frustrated. In the 35th minute, a cross from Leupold went into the box, where Castilho towered over Hiroto to head the ball past Hedvig into the goal to make it 1-1. The HUElavian crowd erupted to jump around and cheer loudly, while Castilho gave hugs and hi-fives to his teammates who celebrated with him. Throughout the rest of the first half and part of the 2nd half, both teams had chances to score, but were met by saves by Casillas and Hedvig alike. In the 60th minute, Phon was on the ball being covered by Andrade, when she gave a curving cross into the box, where Madeline and Casillas tried to get the ball, but the ball hit Madeline's chest to deflect and roll into the goal, making it 1-2. Once more, the Zs celebrated with great cheers while Madeline was mobbed again for the upset lead, while the HUElavians were left stunned and upset at losing the lead once more. Once again, they went on the attack, where in the 71st minute, Chanca (in for Rego) was running with the ball, giving a pass towards the box that was deflected by Hiroto before it landed on the foot of Lopes, who gave a curving shot past the reach of Hedvig into the goal, making it 2-2. Lopes got the ball and ran back to center circle, with her teammates tapping her in celebration, while the HUElavian crowd was cheering loudly once more wanting to go for another chance. Unfortunately for HUElavia, their attacks would come to bite them, as in the 88th minute, Lopes lost the ball to Castro (in for Roselyne) and sent a long ball to Maddox, who was being covered by Regnard, where he passed to his right for Katona to give a one-time shot that was low and rolled past the reach of Casillas to hit the post and go into the goal, making it 2-3. Katona was mobbed by his teammates and the bench in celebration while the Zs in the crowd were celebrating with joy and passion for the winning goal and upset. Despite a few attacks, the HUElavians were demoralized and the opening match ended in a difficult defeat.

In the other Group H game, Nyowani Kitara defeated Brookstation 1-0, leaving Valentine Z in 1st Place, Nyowani Kitara in 2nd, HUElavia in 3rd, and Brookstation in 4th. HUElavia will play against Nyowani Kitara for Matchday 2, where the team is obligated to play with their A-Team and go for the victory in what is a win-or-go-home match. While there are options with the four best 3rd Place Teams making the knockouts, Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos do not want to leave it to a risky gamble of hoping to be the Top 4 3rd Placed teams to make it and need to get results now. Once again, the team will play at TLI Stadium in Montifort with the expected backing of the HUElavian faithful cheering them on in the match. The team is training hard and studying film looking to improve their play and give it their best against the Kitarans. Here's to a better result.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Mercedini]

82nd Cup Of Harmony MD1 LIVE
Mercedini vs. Alezian Union
@ Gardiner-Stewart Stadium - Abingdon Parish, The Licentian Isles

Good evening one and all and welcome back to the Licentian Isles for the beginning of our Cup of Harmony journey. We have made ourselves at home in Abingdon Parish with about ten thousand Mercedinians joining us for the opening group games which will all take place in the Gardiner-Stewart Stadium. As stated previously, there will be some familiarity with this stadium as it will be Mercedini's de-facto home stadium for the group stage, but whether that will pay dividends is yet to see seen. The Golden Eagles' first game will be against Alezian union, the lowest ranked team in the tournament, bringing Mercedini's best chance of winning to the table, at the first time of asking. Billic will likely still field a strong team for this game, as he looks to mark his return to the Cup Of Harmony with a win on opening night in the Licentian Isles.

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0' - Out come the teams into a cauldron of noise and fanfare, both sets of fans are ready for this match in their distinctive colours, but there are plenty of flags flying for both nations for this opening group game. While neutrals largely outnumber the two nations' fans, there is a decent turnout for both teams as the noise is turned up to eleven in Abingdon Parish. On one side, you have the blue and black portion of the crowd hoping and rather expecting a win here tonight. On the other side, there are thousands of fans in yellow and white waving their flags and having a good time in their portion of the stadium. By all standards, it is a David vs. Goliath affair in Abingdon, but let's see who the early pace setters are in this group and the tournament.

3' - (MRC 0-0 ALZ) - We're quick our of the blocks here in Abingdon and it's Alezian Union who are starting this game better. They had kick-off advantage and so had the privilege of setting up the first attack, and put together a great passing move which moved quickly down the wing before Isma'il cut inside and curled a shot towards goal. It was blocked by the leg of Brindliev and out for a corner, for the first big chance of the game. An inswinging corner was swung in from the near side. A header flashed the ball across the face of goal, but no one was there to tap it in at the far post. Frustrating chance for Alezia to miss, but warning signs early on for the Golden Eagles.

11' - (MRC 0-0 ALZ) - We're just past the ten minute mark in this game and there has been nothing worth of note following that big chance for Alezian Union in the opening minutes. Billic is pondering on the touchline as he paces up and down trying to control the tempo of the game via his players. His counterpart is also watching on from the safety of the side line, as he tries to mastermind what could be the shock of the round. Both teams look well organised and composed so far, but how long will that last as we approach the half way point of the first half.

17' - (MRC 0-0 ALZ) - First chance of the game for the Golden Eagles and it's Chillotov who has seen his first sight of goal of the night. He has had a couple of speculative shots to warm himself up, but they have come to nothing thus far, but the pitch seemed to open up for him as he ran forward. The pace of Karlovic and Garzallo was too much for the Alezian midfield and the Mercedinians sprinted forward to concoct a goal. Chillotov collected the ball from Karlovic and moved forward to create something. It seemed the defenders were too scared of a through-ball and were marking the attackers ahead of Chillotov rather than the man with the ball. The defence parted ways with each other, which gave Chillotov a shot on goal, but sadly the frontman drilled his low shot past the post, barely troubling the keeper from long range. It stays 0-0, the match is simmering, but no flames just yet.

20' - (MRC 0-0 ALZ) - Just when you thought the danger was over from the Mercedinian attack, Garzallo hits the woodwork from the edge of the box. It was another fast pressing move from the Mercedinians as they looked to avenge that half chance which went begging minutes ago. Another four man press featuring both attackers and both wingers have the Alezian back line some trouble. Armani was weaving in and out of bodies before producing a rather lame curled shot from a narrow angle. Andi Hazari in the Alezian net parried the ball away from danger, only to reach Garzallo who was barrelling forward to claim the ball. Whether it was the crowd's chants to shoot, or just a rush of blood to the head, Garzallo blasted the ball past the keeper, only for it to cannon off the bar and back into play. The ball was cleared by the side in white and yellow, it seems that it's inevitable that a goal is scored at either end.

31' - (MRC 0-0 ALZ) - Time is ticking away in this first half and the game seems to have mellowed somewhat since those back-to-back chances for Dini about ten minutes ago. Alezian Union have a grip on this game, the Golden Eagles do to. You wouldn't really be able to tell who the lower ranked side is at the moment, and the minnows of the occasion have certainly bridged the gap from what we have seen so far. These teams have 15 minutes to go before the end of the first, will we have any last first half drama?

37' - (MRC 1-0 ALZ) - GOAL! It has certainly been a slog at times, but Dini have finally broken the deadlock as we approach the end of the first half, with Christian Armani claiming the first goal of Mercedini's Cup of Harmony campaign. The play had been going for some time with little impact on the final third. Di Sansev made a run down the wing and was found by a cross-pitch Santorino pass to switch the play. Di Sansev lofted the ball into the box for anyone to reach, but the clearance by Igor was poor. The Alezian defender scuffed his clearance, which opened the door for Armani to scoop it up, take a touch inside and fire low towards the near post. Andi Hazari got a lot on the ball to take the venom out of the shot, but it proved to be too much as the ball rolled over the line and into the net. 1-0 Dini, a sigh of relief has come from the Mercedinian fans in the stadium.

39' - (MRC 2-0 ALZ) - At 1-0 Alezian Union were still in this, but at 2-0 the game could be slipping away from them as Chillotov doubles their lead to two with a clinical finish following a breakdown from the kick-off. Play broke down in the Mercedinian half following the Alezian kick-off, and it was simply two passes which undid the opposition's back line. One pass from Brindliev to Nymark, one pass from Nymark to Chillotov and the latter was through on goal. The defence seemed to switch off as they tried to get reorganised, but Chillotov was aware to the play and rode the offside line to perfection before being released. The Lajuno man knew he had the goalie to beat, but was under pressure from the defence to made their way back and was trying to muscle him off the ball. Chillotov was struggling but managed to stab the ball through the keeper's legs as he spread himself wide to narrow the angle. It was another agonizing moment for the Alezian fans as the ball slowly trickled from the edge of the box and into the net for a second. Chillotov wheeled away with the Mercedinians and some of the neutrals cheering him on, but this game could already be decided. 2-0!

44' - (MRC 3-0 ALZ) - Goodness gracious what is going on here! After looking so good early on, Alezian Union have fallen apart in Abingdon just before the end of the first half. It's a second for Armani as he starts his campaign of brilliantly, and could have won this game already. Mercedini have exploited the wings of the Alezian team all game long, and this goal was no different. Garzallo was thread through down the wing and broke free of his defender to work his way inside from the by-line. He was approaching the goal from the side, and simply drilled a hard pass across the face of goal. The ball missed numerous bodies in it's way to the back post, where Armani was waiting to tap it in from a yard out. A simple goal to score, but none the less effective. With half-time approaching, Mercedini are three-up with the Alezian Union collapsing as the minutes tick by.

45+2' - (MRC 3-0 ALZ) - Half time in Abingdon and what a depressing first half of football for the neutrals. Alezian Union came in with fighting spirit and nearly scored the opneing goal when a flick-on at the near post just needed a touch to edge it into the net, sadly that never came. Following that, it was fairly even between both sides as the players tussled for the ball under the lights of the Gardiner-Stewart Stadium. Mercedini had threatened to score for some time, and that goal finally came when Armani blasted a parried shot which trickled in off the keeper. Following that was a catastrophe for the Alezian Union. Two minutes later, Chillotov caught the defence napping and slipped the ball into the following a 1-on-2 jostling match, before Armani doubled his tally for the game with a tap-in. The game looks like it's already over, but we still have more football to play; at half time it's Mercedini 3, Alezian Union 0.

HALF TIME
Mercedini 3 - 0 Alezian Union
Armani 37', 44', Chillotov 39'

The players are coming back onto the pitch for the second of the game. Spirits seem to be high in both camps which is good to see, with the Alezian fans still making noise and aplauding their team at the re-enter the field of play. Billic is talking with Dostalok as he emerges from the tunnel, but the team is doing well in their first outing back at the Cup Of Harmony. It isn't the cleanest Mercedinian performance in the world, but Billic can now afford to take the team's foot off the gas thanks to that late shipment of goals in the first half. We begin at 3-0, how many will we get by the end of the game.

51' - (MRC 3-0 ALZ) - Five minutes or so into the second half, and we seem far detached from the craziness of the first 45-minutes. Mercedini are controlling the ball and seeing this clock out. That isn't to say that they aren't trying to facet chances for themselves in the time they have remining, it's their risk threshold has gone way down, so they are only looking for plays which will certainly work out (rather than just give the ball away on a 50/50). Alezia are having their chances on the ball, and a throwing as much as they can at the Mercedinian goal to find a way back into this one, or even just to get a goal to open their account. Karlovic and Nymark are now sitting back to protect the clean sheet, it's a cruel cruel way to choke out a match, but hey, what ever works! 3-0.

58' - (MRC 3-0 ALZ) - Chance for Mercedini, but Chillotov drags it wide, so no brace for him right now even if Dini are threatening again. Alezian Union are clinging on to a respectable score line, but they are being drowned out of this game by wave after wave of attacking pressure from their opponents. Maybe if the score line was closer, then we would see a bit of competition in this game, but that vicious seven minute spell has taken all the wind out of the Pot 4 side's sails. If anyone looks to score, it would be the Golden Eagles at this point, but anything could happen.

66' - (MRC 3-0 ALZ) - Just as I say that Mercedini look like scoring next, Alezian Union go ahead and have their best spell of the game since those opening minutes. Rouben, who has been absent for most of this game, has finally come alive with a series of shots which were on target and prompted a good save out of Wandai in the Dinian net. Following that, the corner was equally dramatic with what looked like a direct shot from the corner nearly making it's way in. The ball hit the bar as it dipped, before being cleared by Di Sansev on the line. So Alezian Union will come away with some shots on target, but no goal as of yet.

70' - (MRC 4-0 ALZ) - This game is surely over now as Armani completes his maiden hattrick for the team with a converted penalty to make it four for the Golden Eagles with twenty minutes or so to go. It was simply a shirt pull from Igor which was spotted by the referee as Chillotov tried to break free, before going to down to milk the offence a bit more. Nymark, the usual penalty taker, gave the ball to Armani to complete his hattrick. He doesn't normally take penalties, but with the game looking already decided, it was time for the winger to have his moment on the international stage. Up he stepped, and he blasted the ball down the middle with the goalkeeper diving to his right. No big celebration from the team as Armani picked up the ball and went to celebrate with his team. A dream start for him, and a good result on the card for his team. 4-0.

83' - (MRC 4-0 ALZ) - There has been a coming together of heads between Dostalok and Alfari in the middle of the pitch, both medical teams are on to treat the players, not too sure if there is blood at the moment. Dostalok seems to have taken the brunt of the hit as Alfari is up and walking normally. It's a worrying sign to see as we could be losing one of our star players in the first game of the tournament. Billic is preparing Talisky to come on in a rather unexpected substitution at this point in the game. We hope to bring you good news about his condition as soon as we get it. There could be a sour note to what has been an excellent game so far from the team.

83' - (MRC 4-0 ALZ) - The game is beginning to wind down as we approached the final few minutes of regulation, the game is done and dusted, with neither team looking to sustain any further injuries or bookings for the remainder of the match. Billic is now sitting in the dug out and looks happy with the team's performance, but he knows this is only the entrée to this group stage, with tougher games on paper still to come. Doesn't look like too much else is going to come from this as the score remains at 4-0.

90+1' - (MRC 4-0 ALZ) - Talisky blasts his shot high and wide after the defence opened up for him, and that turns out to be the final kick of the game as the referee blows his whistle on an extremely promising game for the Golden Eagles. Before this match started, many knew that this wouldn't be the biggest test of them all, and with such a gulf in ranking between the two sides, Mercedini just needed to avoid a calamity. They nearly had one in the opening minutes, but it turned out to be a clinical seven minute spell which totally killed the game off. Two from Armani and one from Chillotov saw Dini head into the break with a 3-0 lead. After the break, Armani completed his hattrick from the penalty spot in the major bright spot to come out of the game. All-in-all, a good days work, it's finished in Abingdon; Mercedini 4, Alezian Union 0.

FULL TIME
Mercedini 4 - 0 Alezian Union
Armani 37', 44', 70' (P), Chillotov 39'

Well there we have it, could we ask for a better start to a tournament? That 4-0 win means that the Golden Eagles cement themselves firmly at the top of the group, with Acastanha and New Lusitania two points back thanks to their draw in the other match in the group. We will head into our final two games with that lead to defend, but a win against New Lusitania in the second match day will almost certainly guarantee safe passage to the knockouts. Is this the start of a deep run? Find out as we give you all the coverage of the Golden Eagle's matches on Mercedini Sports Daily. Goodnight!

[Chartistan]

THE BILLBOARD GAZETTE

HESKY SCORED A-A (GOAL)

Wank Hesky the only highlight of the first game of Cup of Harmony 82 as The Rematch with Savojarna looms

In the harsh microscope of sporting excellence that is the 82nd Cup of Harmony, where Chartistan are playing their group games in Montana Verde, their re-assessment after a seemingly unnatural Semi-Final appearance has come back looking like fifty shades of Cup of Harmony 79 - Against good competition in Flavovespia, Chartistan would lose 2-1 at the Estadio Centenario Nerio Negrón Aponte in Santa Margarita, with Chartistan trailing 2-0 before Wank Hesky got lucky and hit his vidalia volley, aka a rebound in Wank Heskyese, in the 88th minute to at least make the scoreline appear at least close.

Throughout the day Flavovespia were in control of the match, although Chartistan did have a couple of chances, but none were capitalized on as Lucky Diamond (Which totally sounds like a Chartistani name) proved to many why he is one of the best goalkeepers to come out of the Anaia region, even through its earlier days as a little corner of AO with almost as much power as the Glorious Southwest. In the end, Doctor Lucas ended up with 0 points to his name heading into the 2nd matchday, with only 2 games to go, just like 79 where his team got knocked out in their first ever CoH in the group stage.

All eyes, seemingly, now head towards a game billed in Chartistan as The Rematch, with the team in purple and blue taking on Savojarna, who knocked them out of the Semi-Finals in 81 to end an almost certain fairytale run that had them decimate Sargossa and knock out Banija on the way. Ever since that game, fortune has not gone well for Savojarna. Placed in a qualification group with the likes of Squidroidia, Kohnhead, Valentine Z, they were expected to at the very least challenge the Inklings for an automatic berth at the World Cup, but instead they had a historically bad campaign, not aided at all with the reduction of qualification games from 18 to 14, and finished 5th, behind all of those nations in that order AND St Trinians. They couldn't even BEAT the Finntopian Empire! And even with everything refreshed for the Cup of Harmony, it took them 82 minutes to beat Soldera, 48th ranked in the tournament and a team that they shouldn't struggle to beat. With all of this, Chartistan feel like they could compete with the very boogymen that stopped them from a dream Final with Trolleborg.

"I just feel like this Savojarna team have nothing left in the tank and they are waiting for World Cup 91 to come along," manager Doctor Lucas Combbrush said in an interview with the Gazette about his opponent. "They want to just rebuild everything and right the wrongs set by their team in qualifying, but at the same time I think they have to prove something wrong after that loss to Trolleborg in the Cup of Harmony final. I wouldn't be shocked if they beat us flat out, but at the same time, they might take some time to regain competence as a unit."

Wank Hesky also had some words about Savojarna. "To be frank with you, this team isn't the fanciest Savojarna that we have seen, I mean just look at their disaster in qualification! If we get the chances we need to get, don't be surprised if we get the 3 points and head into Soldera with a chance to advance to the last 32. I mean hell, let me bust out a banjo and sing about how good we are!" He would proceed to talk about his girl for 3 minutes straight as a song, which we didn't ask for or needed for this piece, but we decided to mention it anyway.

At the very least we scored a goal.

[The Cordian Isles]

The Cordian All-Star

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The Cup of Kits

Around a month ago, one of our staff here at the All-Star had the, frankly genius, idea to run a tournament between all the kits in the League A, and have our readers and followers vote on them to determine the winner. And so, over the last two weeks, the people of Cordia have voted for their preferred kits to determine… kit superiority! Or maybe a consolation prize for a shitty team. Who knows? We’re about to find out, because the results of the final are in. But first, we’ll take a look at each kit in turn - and talk a bit about why some kits are loved, hated, or… just not really noticed.

Brenville Blue

It’s a simple design, but it’s one of the best. The blue on gold is iconic, as this kit’s been around for a while.

Cordasfjord FC

Opinions on this kit are mixed. The black on red is a pretty cool look, but many saw it’s a bit too pinkish. The white sleeves don’t really help there, though the shoulder patch is kind of a cool look too. Like Brenville’s, this kit has been around for a while.

Creston Wolves

A simple yet modern-looking gradient gives the wolves a pretty awesome look, and the kit colors complement each other perfectly. A recent kit change, but a very smart one.

Danvirk FC

It was a cool idea, to be sure. But there’s a lot going on with the kit and it’s a bit hard to look at. It’s interesting, but there are better ones in the league.

Eriksson Icecaps

It’s… not… great. The split is interesting, the logo is good, but overall it feels old. Probably because it is old, and in need of a change.

Gilded City Dragons

One of the league’s best kits. The blue and black are great, the design is great. Just a great kit overall, really.

Icecliff Pack FC

Oh lord. Do I really have to? Well, then. Icecliff’s kit is the most disgustingly ugly kit in the league. The color scheme makes it look like a button-up, the logo is barely visible (and not great besides), and it’s generally an eyesore to look at.

Jutland Cannons

A more modern spin on the Cannons’ classic orange and white stripes. It’s a cool update and keeps the history, but there’s nothing all that special about it.

Jutland FC

Some may call this kit plain or drab, but it’s one of my favorites. Its simplicity and modernity make for a pretty cool look, and most fans agree. The gray also is similar to the paint on most military ships, an extra bit of symbolism for a club hailing from the shipyards of Jutland.

Meadow Ridge Maples

Another cool kit using gray. The orange and gray combination does pretty well here, and the hexagons on the sleeves and waist are a nice touch - their relevancy is in question, but a nice touch nonetheless. Maybe they were trying to look like little maple leafs? Cool kit, though.

Shelter Cove Captains

Alright kit, but a lot is going on here and it makes some elements hard to see. The design is interesting, but it could have been done with a bit more precision, or maybe another design would have worked better.

Skalton Harpers

Another classic kit, this time featuring Skalton’s purple and yellow. Pretty basic, but it’s tasteful and it looks great.

Thor’s Rest Storm

In the running for the second-worst kit in the league. The weird lines look like a seismograph, which would be appropriate if they were going for the natural disaster all-star look. But they’re the Storm, not the Earthquakes. Storm fans weren’t behind it when it came out, and they’re not behind it four years later. It’s a cool design, just not the right one.

Vikings FC

The grays come up a lot… but this is an example of a bad use. The gray itself is alright, but the kit itself is neither cool-looking nor tasteful enough for it to work with this kind of simplicity. The only reason it hasn’t been changed is because there’s a lot of history wrapped up in it… though that just makes it even more old and irrelevant and even more a candidate to be changed.

Westwall Stand

The orange and blue is a nice color choice, I like the logo, but the kit just doesn’t have anything that makes it pop. It’s an alright kit, but nothing spectacular.

Icecliff Pack received a bye to the second round because everyone knows their kit is absolutely terrible. The other clubs’ kits were randomized.

Round of 16
Creston Wolves 37%-63% Gilded City Dragons
Creston’s kit is good, but Gilded City’s is just better. No surprises here, other than that the vote was a bit more lopsided than expected.

Brenville Blue 63.5%-36.5% Shelter Cove Captains
Brenville’s kit looks good and has some history behind it. Shelter Cove can’t say the same, and Brenville advances.

Westwall Stand 28.5%-71.5% Cordasfjord FC
We didn’t expect it to be quite this lopsided, but we did expect this result - Cordasfjord’s kit moves on.

Jutland FC 55%-45% Danvirk FC
Jutland FC was the expected winner here, but Danvirk puts up a good fight in the round’s closest matchup. Bad draw for Danvirk, as there are a lot of kits theirs might have beaten.

Eriksson Icecaps 57%-43% Vikings FC
There was no really good choice here, but Eriksson advances. Yay? They’ll probably be out in the next round anyway.

Skalton Harpers 72.5%-27.5% Thor's Rest Storm
Yep. We told you the Storm’s kit was bad.

Meadow Ridge Maples 64%-36% Jutland Cannons
About what we expected. Meadow Ridge’s kit is good, while the Cannons’ isn’t spectacular, so Meadow Ridge’s advances.

Icecliff Pack FC - BYE
We won’t be sure that Icecliff’s kit is in the quarterfinals until we see it with our own eyes.


Quarterfinals

Gilded City Dragons 48.5%-51.5% Brenville Blue
A bit surprising, to be honest. But as we’ve said, the history is also a factor, and Brenville’s been very successful with their kit.

Cordasfjord FC 39.5%-60.5% Jutland FC
Jutland’s kit just looks cleaner than Cordasfjord’s to be honest. Not surprising.

Eriksson Icecaps 67.5%-32.5% Skalton Harpers
OH COME ON CORDIA. REALLY.

Meadow Ridge Maples 96%-4% Icecliff Pack FC
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. WE SAW IT ALRIGHT. BLINK AND YOU MIGHT MISS IT.


Semifinals

Brenville Blue 47%-53% Jutland FC
Another surprise. Guess there are a lot of Jutland FC fans in the isles. Still pretty surprising, though.

Eriksson Icecaps 22%-78% Meadow Ridge Maples
Jeez. People finally screwed their heads on right.


Third Place

Brenville Blue 85.5%-14.5% Eriksson Icecaps
There we go.


Final

Jutland FC 46.5%-53.5% Meadow Ridge Maples
Interesting. The two big gray kits, but Meadow Ridge wins the vote.


Meadow Ridge Maples: Your Cup of Kits Champions!

OOC: Apologies to the reader for the massive image sizes.

[Krytenia]

No Strings on Stringer
By Rami Niblick in Santa Margerita, Montaña Verde

SOME people, when confronted with pressure, fold like an origami crane. Others thrive in the environment. A few, though, simply ignore it and plough on regardless. Krytenian national team manager Richard Valens is firmly in the third category. Faced with criticism over his style of play and the jettisoning of many major names from the Cup of Harmony squad, Valens has stuck resolutely to his guns and, at least in the team's first game, reaped the rewards in a tense and turgid encounter in the Estadio Metropolitano.

The starting eleven, already shorn of the likes of Ross Okano, Max Snelders, and Robert Wilson, took on an even more unfamiliar look with Gavin Healey preferred over Elias Molinari and Alexander Devereux stepping in for Ciaran Rafferty, who picked up a calf strain in training earlier in the week. Starting a major tournament with three players making their international debut - midfielder Scott Stringer being the other - is, to be honest, not the ideal situation, but such was the issue that the Dragons faced. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Krytenia started the match lacing their usual energy, feeling more comfortable dipping their metaphorical toes in the water against an Estorvipa and Estorpiva team happy to keep men behind the ball and let their opponents pass themselves to death, crowding out the sky blue shirts in advanced positions and suffocating anything that looked even slightly dangerous.

In such a situation, it must be hard to be a creative midfield force. It's especially the case, you would imagine, if you're pulling on that famous sky blue jersey for the first time. If that was the case, Scott Stringer wasn't showing it. The Ousevale man, thrust into the limelight at the tender age of twenty-one, was showing a maturity beyond his years. Used to a more ruthlessly aggressive attacking style at his club, Stringer adapted effortlessly to the more patient play that the manager's tactics, and the situation in front of him, called for. Throughout the first half, the central midfielder made efforts to find players in space, and find some of his own. Though the Estorvipa and Estorpiva players did an effective job of limiting his options, Stringer did his best to stretch them as much as he could. Exhausting the defence and creating set-piece opportunities became the order of the day, and Krytenia's best chance of the first half came from such a set-piece. It was Stringer who drew the foul; Senna's floated ball reached the far post, but Fergal Finnan could only direct his header into the waiting arms of E&E goalkeeper Sashka Vidanova. It was pretty much the only clear chance of the opening forty-five minutes, as the game threatened to descend into a proper snoozer.

As the game wore on, the team in yellow began to grow in confidence. The rearguard action had worked perfectly thus far; now was the time to press the advantage. The attacking was patient and measured, looking to penetrate but at the same time not allowing Krytenia to break and catch them on the counter-attack. This is where Healey and goalkeeper James Orwell came into their own, the former placing Fabian Prasutagusic firmly in his pocket and the latter marshalling his back four, getting to anything loose, and moving the ball quickly to his full-backs. On the hour, with the game in danger of swaying towards Estorvipa and Estorpiva, Valens made a agme-changing substitution. It may have been a surprise that it was the number nine displayed by the fourth official, but Alun Belmwr had run himself into a brick wall, and the Dragons needed an injection of pace.

Enter Mason Carter. The fourth Krytenian to pick up a first-ever cap in the match, Carter had been brought on to generally be a nuisance and stretch the E&E defence still further. The plan worked, as Carter and Cande Montalban overloaded the back line, allowing Stringer to finally be able to unlock the defence. A wide ball to captain Robert Reeder took a couple of players out of position, and Reeder's deep cross found Devereux eight yards out, connecting with a header that was just fractionally out of reach of Vidanova to give Krytenia the lead.

This led to E&E being in a position they really didn't want to be in; chasing the game. The necessity of pushing forward to find an equaliser may have added the pressure on Finnan and Healey, but the centre-back pairing proved up for the challenge. It also meant more space for the Krytenians when they had the ball, and Stringer was unlucky not to add his name to the scoresheet himself. His low shot was well hit, but too close to the keeper; though Vidanova could only parry, but substitute Nona Sergeyeva was there to clear the ball into the stands. A late appeal for a Krytenian penalty - which, if we're honest, was more Carter making a meal of minimal contact from Florian Kessler - was waved away by the referee, and the Dragons saw the game out with little drama to claim a win in their opening game.

Next up is what could well be Krytenia's trickiest game og the group stage as they face Abanhfleft. There are still question marks over Valens' tactics, but this result has given the critics something to chew on. Much more like that, and the future of the national team will be in safe hands both on and off the pitch. Onward!

ESTORVIPA AND ESTORPIVA - 0
- no scorers -

KRYTENIA - 1
Devereux 64

[Drawkland]

E X P E D I T I O N . . .

This is the third (fourth?) chapter of an extended storyline. Below are the previous sections.

A Hint * A Tease * A Story * A Contradiction * A Roster

Elite 1 * Elite 2 * Elite 3 * Elite 4 * Elite 5 * Elite 6
Elite 7 * Elite 8 * Elite 9 * Elite 10 * Elite 11

Expired 1 * Expired 2 * Expired 3 * Expired 4 * Expired 5 * Expired 6
Expired 7 * Expired 8 * Expired 9 * Expired 10 * Expired 11

Expedition 1 * Expedition 2 * Expedition 3 * Expedition 4

"There was a whole-ass battle down here, and nobody thought to wake us up?" Jack Hoy raised his arms in half-joking indignation.

"You were all sleeping." Jaxon Madison responded, waving his hand dismissively. "I didn't want to wake everybody up, time was of the essence to get the jump on the bandits. If I'd gone and woken everybody else they would've had the advantage, plus somebody could've gotten seriously hurt."

"I bet I wouldn't have gotten hurt." Jack grinned. "I've got great elusiveness. Plus, my stiff arm is underrated."

"You do know they were trying to kill us, not tackle us, right?" Cam Cross butted in, exasperated.

"Oh come on, take a joke," Jack rolled his eyes. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

"We don't need you to lighten the mood, we need you to show us where you got the clothes from last night," Cam responded.

The trio of Jack, Jaxon, and Cam had left the tavern a bit before dawn as everybody was beginning to wake up. Jaxon had sustained heavy injury in the night fight with the bandits, in the form of a sword taken right through the gut. His immortality and regenerative properties kept him alive, of course, but his new realm-appropriate clothes had been ruined by both the puncturing of the sword and the copious blood loss that followed. Since Jack was one of the guys that went out looking for clothes the day before, Jaxon and Cam asked him to show them the way as everybody else prepared to set off for the next day of hiking.

"Alright, here we are!" Jack proclaimed as they came up on the somewhat dilapidated building that had once been a clothier. "There should still be plenty left in there. They've got cloaks, tunics, vest-like things, even shoes. I don't think you want the shoes though, they're pretty ugly."

"Thanks Jack. Think you could keep watch outside for a moment?" Jaxon asked.

"Sure thing boss. Don't take too long though, Nicole was getting antsy even before we left."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Jaxon chuckled as he opened the rickety door. Cam followed him as he walked inside.

"Alright, is this stuff sorted by size?" Jaxon asked to nobody in particular. He took a glance around the place, seeing the various shelves and racks which contained the various medieval garb. He eyed the shelves which were filled with tunics, and walked up to investigate. He then started to disrobe, taking off his tunic which was ruined during the fight.

"Hey!" Cam protested. "I'm in here too!"

"Oh?" Jaxon asked, turning to look at her. "You can leave if you want."

"I didn't expect you to just start stripping out in the sales floor here!" Cam shielded her eyes with her forearm. "Don't they have dressing rooms?"

"I doubt it." Jaxon, with a bit of a pained expression, pulled off his old tunic and threw it on the floor. "Besides, it's just you. No big deal."

"Just me? What's that supposed to mean?" Cam lowered her arm, noticing that Jaxon wasn't taking his pants off either, and relaxed a bit.

"I mean that we know each other." Jaxon sorted through the tunics until he found one he thought was his size. He held it up, realized it would be too big, and put it back. "You're not a stranger."

"Yeah, well I do happen to have a sense of decency!" Cam huffed and folded her arms. "Also, you should look at the next shelf over. Those tunics would be much more your color."

"Decency?" Jaxon laughed, a little longer this time. "And what makes this drab shade of gray my color?"

"I just think it might look good on you," Cam said tentatively. "It matches the look you have when you wear the silver Elite jerseys."

"Fine, I'll trust your judgement on this one, Cam Cross." Jaxon held up a gray tunic, nodding when it looked to be in his size. "Do you think you could help me put this on? My midsection and shoulders are still hurting."

"Oh," Cam paused. "Alright, sure."

"Yeah, it just hurts when I have to stretch to put it on." Jaxon held out the tunic for Cam to take. "If it makes you uncomfortable you don't have to."

"No, no, it's fine," Cam quickly assured him. She snatched the tunic out of his hands and helped his arms through the sleeves, pulling it down once he got it through.

"Ah, much better." Jaxon inspected the garment. "You're right, this might be my color after all. Thanks for the help."

"No problem." Cam couldn't help but blush a little bit. "Let's get going though, don't want to keep Nicole waiting!" She turned quickly and started walking back outside, hoping Jaxon didn't notice.

---

Soon after, the trio rejoined the main group, and everybody had their packs ready to go. The sun had just started peeking out over the horizon, and it was time to hit the road again. Nicole was obviously nervous to venture out again, given what happened the night before, but Jaxon assured her they wouldn't experience any trouble in broad daylight, especially along major paths. When the trio went to get Jaxon's new clothes, Nicole pored over her notebook to determine where they'd travel and where they'd camp for the night.

"We're definitely going to have to camp out for the night," Nicole explained for everybody as they began walking out of the abandoned city. "Once the sun starts getting low we should be getting our camp set up so we don't have to work in the dark. We'll be on the lookout for a good spot beforehand so we have plenty of time to decide."

"Where did you guys set up camp when you came through?" Sarah Arrowsword asked Jaxon, as the group went on in various conversation.

"Honestly, I don't remember. That part of the trip was mostly a blur, because what came afterwards was so ... heavy." Jaxon had trouble finding the right word.

"Heavy?" Cam asked.

"When your mind has to remember hundreds of years of events and memories, some things stick better than others. Some things are just heavier in your memory, and some things are left by the wayside. The maze and its horrors? Can't keep it out of my mind. Where we were camping beforehand? Not as lasting."

"How can you remember so many years of living?" Andrew Arrowsword chimed in. "Wouldn't it drive you a little bit insane? Especially considering how many people already suffer memory issues from old age."

"When you attain the gift of immortality, you also have several smaller gifts that come alongside it." Jaxon explained, as Nicole pulled her notebook back out. "I think one of the guys described them as 'stocking stuffers' since they're smaller and accompany the main gift. Stuff like the regeneration factor, which you've seen here. It also modifies the way your brain operates so that you can handle immortality at large. Having an increased and expanded memory is part of that."

"Are there any other abilities you gain?" Cam asked, walking a bit closer to Jaxon than anyone else.

"Sure," Jaxon smirked, "But you guys will have to find out for yourselves."

"You're no fun," Sarah said, clearly annoyed.

"I think it's best if we all stay focused," Jaxon replied. "We need to be paying much more attention on the journey rather than the reward."

"Sounds like the end of a bad kids movie," Sarah shot back.

"It's less about morals and more about survival." Nicole piped up. "Jaxon's right."

"Let's not get carried away," Can tried to dispel the tense swing in the conversation. "I think Jaxon's just being a tease."

"You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Jaxon playfully slugged Cam in the shoulder.

"Hey!" Cam shouted in response, but she didn't say anything else.

---

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. The group was simply walking down the byway, keeping to themselves, making small talk, and avoiding eye contact the few times they encountered people coming the other way. As the sun started to sink and the group started looking for places to camp. In the distance, they could see a town, but this one was clearly populated. Smoke poured from little chimneys and lights could be seen in some windows.

"Could we just stop there for the night?" Katie Madison asked from the back.

"No way!" Jaxon and Nicole said at the same time.

"Sorry," Nicole said, and Jaxon nodded to let her speak. "Anyway, we need to keep away from largely populated areas. This town looks bigger than the place we stayed yesterday, and it's actually full of people. We need to keep a low profile, and going to town like that is going to attract too much unwanted attention."

"But we could get some better food!" Allison Summers spoke up. "Not to mention we could sleep in better beds. Not that those beds we stayed in last night were great, but they beat a sleeping bag on the ground any day."

"We're not going into town, and that's final," Jaxon said with conviction. "Besides, I think we have a good spot off to the left. Check that out."

Beyond the path, there was a decently sized wooded grove. The trees were scraggly and not very nice looking, but they offered some decent cover.

"If there's a clearing somewhere in there, it'll be perfect."

"Let's head over, then!" Riley Hoyt replied cheerily.

The group made good time tromping through the thicker grass and brush, making their way to the small forest of trees. They found a clearing, and started making camp. All they had were their modern tents, make of bright nylon and polyester. However, the previous night, some of the group had procured some large sheets of canvas to cover the tents and make them less conspicuous.

With eleven people, the group was able to multitask and make good time. The tents went up quickly, a fire was made, and dinner was started. It would be another stew, coming in a smaller pot than the huge tavern of course. It would take a few loads of it to feed everybody, but it worked out fine. Dinner was packed up, night watches were established, and everybody got ready to sleep as the sun dipped under the horizon and night came over the landscape. Everything had gone by the book.

Almost everything.

The first watch was the Grid Corps boys, Jack, Leo, and Riley. They jawed for a bit, but kept the noise down. The fire was almost dead, just glowing embers enough to see around the camp but not enough to give away their location entirely. They did a great job keeping watch and ensuring the camp was safe ... but they failed to notice as two figures quietly slip out of their tent and into the TiSoFaH night.

---

I understand this is a large number of characters to know, so here's a quick list of each of the party members.

Nicole Warren: Former Kick Corps member (edge defender).
Cam Cross: Former Kick Corps member (forward).
Sarah Arrowsword: Former Kick Corps member (centerback).
Andrew Arrowsword: Former Ceni National Team member (striker). Half-brother of Sarah.
Liam Penderyn: Cenian tennis star. Boyfriend of Andrew.
Katie Madison: Former Kick Corps member (forward).
Allison Summers: Drawk Corps member (midfielder). Domestic teammate of Katie.
Leo Cross: Current Grid Corps member (defensive end). Second cousin of Cam.
Jack Hoy: Current Grid Corps member (running back).
Riley Hoyt: Retired Grid Corps member (tight end).
Jaxon Madison: Elite Eleven member.

This story was meant to be finished last year. The events of this RP occurred sometime during the WC88 cycle.

[Astograth]

Previously

After ringing the bell four times, Urti Kirna was ready to call it quits. He’d been an idiot to think anyone would be home. If the Ministry of Interior were looking into the matter – as they almost surely were – then of course no one would be home. They’d be already deported or on the run.

As he turned to leave, a crackle from the intercom on the brick column caught him off-guard.

“Yes?” asked a deep voice.

Kirna jumped, putting his mouth nearly against the speaker. “Hello! This is the Lévêque residence?”

“Yes,” came the reply with no pause. “What do you want?”

“I’m a journalist,” Kirna blurted out. “Urti Kirna. With- with the Urbizania Raven.” That wasn’t strictly true, since he was freelance, but he couldn’t just say that. “I’m writing an article on Mr. Itziar Lévêque”.

The sentence lingered in the air for longer than was comfortable to Kirna.

“And?” asked the voice, finally.

The reporter cleared his throat. “I was told his family lived at this address, his father. I was hoping they could answer some questions?”

“No. No press,” said the intercom. “Goodb-“

Thinking fast, Kirna interrupted. “Urdie Teiyechea! She gave me this address, said you could help.” It was a long shot, he realised.

No answer. He’d been hung up on. Kirna sighed. Then the intercom crackled again, startling him.

“Wait in the garden,” it said. The iron side gate buzzed.

The stone-paved path inside, well-hidden from the outside by hedges and bushes, led Kirna to the façade of a two-story house, the ground floor built of stone and above it, half-timbered brick. Traditional countryside architecture, on what looked like a newer build. Neo-something then. Kirna had picked up some knowledge of that stuff from an ex, but not enough to pass as learned. Before he had time to make more observations, a man’s head poked out the main door. Bespectacled, bearded, hair well-silvered. Late middle age. Serious, unsmiling. There was definitely a resemblance to Lévêque – was this really Lévêque senior? Undisturbed by Interior?

“Tea?” the man asked in his now-familiar deep voice, though no longer distorted by the intercom.

“Yes, please!” answered Kirna, surprised.

“Sugar?”

“One, please.” He made to move towards the door, expecting to be invited inside, but it shut before he could take a step. A minute later the man emerged with two ceramic mugs. He handed one to Kirna, along with a slip of paper. A nod at the paper suggested to Kirna that he read it.

ASSUME HOUSE BUGGED
TALK OUTSIDE

Ah, thought Kirna. Perhaps not so undisturbed by Interior.

“Let’s go out back,” said his host. They followed the path around the side, past a multi-car garage, and around the corner of the building, to a wide-open, well-manicured lawn. A pristine swimming pool sat to the side, its filtration system a soft hum in the background. They stood in the middle of the grass when the man spoke again.

“I’d normally invite you inside for tea, but… well,” he sighed, and his features softened. “Ander Lévêque,” he said, stretching out his hand.

“Urti Kirna,” the journalist replied, shaking it. “Thank you for inviting me in,” he added.

“Yes. Just one thing. You have ID of some sort? That you’re press?”

“Uh- yes.” Kirna picked at his wallet and pulled out an old credential.

Lévêque frowned. “What the hell is Daineri Starting Goalkeeper?”

“Uhhh, it’s- a podcast. It’s a podcast. I write for them sometimes.”

“You said a paper from Urbizania.”

“Sometimes for them, too. I’m a freelancer.”

Lévêque raised an eyebrow. “And this story you’re writing – who’s it for?”

“I… don’t know yet,” confessed Kirna. “Probably the Raven, if they’ll run it. Depends how it turns out.”

“Right,” said Lévêque. He shrugged, eyes weary. “I can’t know if you’re Interior too, but I don’t think they’d pick a name that stupid as a cover story.”

They probably would, mused Kirna to himself. “You’re worried about Interior, then. You think they might’ve bugged your house?”

“Yes. Maybe. Everyone in the family’s, I think. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“But… why? Why would they, I mean.”

Lévêque senior stared at Kirna. “So I don’t talk to journalists about what happened”.

“Ah,” said Kirna. He sipped some tea to wet what he now found was an incredibly dry throat and mouth. “And what happened?”

“The fact I’m here,” said Lévêque, “and my son is not. My papers are all in order. My passport, my ID, birth certificate. My parents were from Kernansquillec, so is my ex-wife, but I was born here. And now they’re saying my son isn’t Astograthian? The son of an Astograthian, and he himself born in Astograth? Bullshit.”

“It doesn’t add up,” said Kirna while he blew on his steaming mug, eyes transfixed.

“Like hell it doesn’t,” said Lévêque senior through gritted teeth.

“So why aren’t you suing? Haven’t gone public with it?” asked Kirna.

Lévêque huffed. “Because this came down from the top. From inside Interior itself, it has to be them who screwed my son out of his nationality papers. And they’re trying to cover it up through us.” He paused for a few moments. “I was in Basabe the day it happened, when they arrested him at the airport. I came back here to look for old paperwork – his birth certificate, ID from when he was a baby, that sort of thing. Gone. Vanished. No one can find any of that stuff.”

“Where’s your son now?” asked Kirna.

“Back in Brenecia. Rozelle.”

“And how is he? What’s he going to do?”

Lévêque senior shot him a look. “Rattled, how else is he going to be. But fine. Physically fine. It’s a good thing he still has the Kernasnquillecan papers, if not… I don’t know what would’ve happened. As for doing, nothing. There’s nothing to do if this is Interior’s doing.”

“So why – why are you talking to me? I can’t publish this either.”

The man’s gaze bored into Kirna and went straight past him. There was a struggle going on behind that visage. Until he blinked.

“There’s one thing,” said Lévêque. He looked around the silent garden, as dusk hastened to cross the sky. “One hint. A lead, but it didn’t come from me, my son, or anyone in the family.” His eyes looked for an answer.

“Of course not,” said Kirna, but the man stayed silent. A leak that could compromise the Ministry of Interior? Deathly serious. “On my life,” promised the journalist.

Lévêque senior leaned in. “Itziar’s paperwork – ID number, passport, so on. It isn’t ‘vanished’. It’s been reassigned. They showed him at the airport, I guess the border agents weren’t in on it yet. The thing is, it hasn’t been reassigned to just anyone – it’s another football player. And not just any football player: his own teammate from Rülândéá Kôstä.”

“Tipi Izotzubia,” whispered Kirna, as the clues fell in place.

[Legalese]

The atmosphere in the visitors’ locker room after the match had a strange air to it, as if things were just a touch off.

Kerry could feel it as he reflected on the result, a strong effort in his judgement, bar one mistake.

It all went according to plan from the beginning. From the first minute, the press was on, pressuring the Eshian side all the way to the back. Unable to set anything up on offense, the Dark Blues kept up the urgency, trying to force the ball through.

It was inevitable that they would make a mistake.

Opportunity pounced in the 42nd minute for Legalese. Sarah Silver, stuck facing away from goal, turned and tried to find Avery MacDougall. A streaking Imir Kurbhati was able to intercept the through ball, and was on a run right to the goal. The midfielder pulled the keeper to the side with him, before crossing to the middle, where Kerry struck it home, giving the Legalteens a 1-0 lead.
As the match turned late, the result had looked secure, to the point that Eshialand had even pulled off MacDougall -- getting some applause from the thousands in attendance for her one-hundredth cap -- and bringing on a pair of fresh legs from one of the squad’s hangers-on, James Calace.

That substitution, while uncharacteristic, was only the second-most surprising development late. The mistake that let Eshialand back into the game wasn’t the problem either, but rather the cause of the mistake.

At the 76th minute, Eshialand keeper Alexander Kolek picked up the ball, and turned it around quickly, throwing to David Gorman out to the left. Gorman fired the ball back to midfield, where Calace collected it at midfield. As he ran forward, Pedro Vasquez started to close down on him, before he just suddenly… stopped.

Calace danced around the shockingly stoic central mid, before taking his chance from 25 yards out. This caught Tommy Thompson similarly unaware, and just like that, James Calace celebrated his first goal.

Back in the locker room, Kerry looked at Pedro. The kid sat on the bench in front of his stall, as if lost in thought. He walked over to his friend, hoping to console him.

Before Kerry could say anything, Pedro spoke.

“Please don’t ask me what happened.”

---

So, why did Pedro not want to tell Kerry what happened? Because even he wasn’t sure how to explain it.

For while he was on the pitch in Stonehouse, he was also in another place, both mentally and metaphysically.

He looked up at the beings sitting at the dais and tried to piece together the information they just relayed to him.

“So, I’m both seventeen and over two hundred years old? And sometime in between, I was someone else?”

The man in a strange uniform sitting next to him piped up. “Oh, you weren’t just someone else, you were really someone else! You were Cyrus Damhan! The Man, the myth, the legend! You went to Audioslavia and carved up defenses in the Liga Calania! You helped lead us to our best World Cup finish ever, fourth place! You faced down the face of God’s unholy abomination, and his jumping beans-turned-posh folk!”
Pedro looked at him quizzically. “I don’t think they let me out of class enough to do all of that.”

The tribunal looked on with rapt fascination.

“You are a proud part of our culture, Cyrus- I mean, Pedro. At this rate, you’re probably the only interesting part of it I mean, our society is really boring, otherwise. We have no crime and no hunger, but we also have no passion. Art’s not a thing -- not only can I not name a good Legalite painter, I can’t even name someone who paints good that’s not from our country. And even if they came here, they’d have to put it in the town hall -- there wasn’t even a museum to host it in!”

“That’s what you mean to me, you and the team. You’re the one bit of fun we have -- the joy of competition, the thrill of victory, and even the agony of defeat is something to feel, and something that sits with us when we climb back to the top.”

He then turned to the witnesses on the dais.

“I don’t know what you have planned here, but please don’t take what culture we have away from us. It’s not much, but it’s ours.”

[Chromatika]

Part 1: The Twin Meetings
Part 2: The Book Moves
Part 3: Twin Surprises
Part 4: The Cambian Horse
Part 5: Shaking Hands with the Devil
Part 6: A Lost Soul
Part 7: Twin Preparations

The Failed Coup of '16 P.R.R.
Part 1: The Capture

It can be said that modern Chromatik history started with the incorporation of the first national football team of Chromatika. Luuk Aart, the team's Captain, was under investigation by the Chromatik Party and the then-Chromatik government for masquerading as a Violet, someone in the upper castes of the Chromatik society, when he was born as a Red, a caste of laborers. When he was convicted despite not being complicit - Aart had had no knowledge - the Chromatik national team, led by Franscseca Larriet-Cortes, fled the country. They would spend a cycle using a stadium in Quebec as their home field, while events started to unfold in Chromatika.

The Rainbow Writers, a group of underground writers, started to spread propaganda supporting a free Chromatika while various rogue elements joined forces under the banner of what became known as the Rainbow Revolution. This Revolution, despite not having a singular leader, toppled the Chromatik Party, though Franscesca Larriet-Cortes was martyred in the process. The Chromatik Party was overthrown, and the Rainbow Revolution's interim government took power, finding an effective voice in Alina Krasnikova, the prior head of Chromatika's secret police that had turned her back on the principles of the Chromatik Party. Krasnikova became the first Premier of Chromatika, though she wasn't one that was voted into office.

Chromatika found itself facing multiple problems during the quest for its first free election not five years later. The remnants of the Chromatik Party had been spared due to keep the country's infrastructure intact after rudimentary inquiries were made to weed out the most offending members of the Chromatik Party regime. Now, many of them were proving to be a roadblock to Chromatika's future. Aided by an ally in Banija, Chromatika was successful in having its first free election, also employing the aid of The Chosen, a group of extraplanar angels whose fates had been tied to Chromatika by virtue of one of them interfering with Chromatik history. At the end, The Chosen were free to be their individual selves, and Chromatika had its first freely elected leader - Keri Wyse Aart.

Though Chromatika started to become a more stable nation, some underlying problems emerged. A group of people thought that the previous members of the Chromatik Party hadn't paid enough for their mistakes, while others looked at the plight of the previously oppressed population and claimed that the Rainbow Party wasn't doing enough to bring those people up to speed. Then, the Anaia-Atlantian Oceania split took the nation by storm, and though Chromatika decided to join the departing nations in Anaia, the fact that the country split from one of its closest political allies in Banija and the fact that most of the negotiations had been done behind closed doors wasn't taken well by the populace. Using this discordance as an ample opportunity, a crime syndicate called the Shadow Hand, a remnant of the Red Enclave that had been the first to oppose the Chromatik Party back before the Rainbow Revolution, started to make some bolder moves.

Recently, three events have shaken Chromatik politics to the very core. First, retired Chromatik footballer Han Ga-Yeong, a major supporter of the current Chromatik government and a spokeswoman for the rehabilitation of the previous ROYG community, was murdered. Not long after, a member of the Chambers of the Legislature, Chromatika's legislative branch, Jordan Lefebvre of the Traditionalist Party, was assassinated. Second, an explosion rocked one of the team buses of Chromatika's national team on the way back from Franscesca Larriet-Cortes International Airport, instantly killing the driver and injuring twelve others. Thankfully, none of the Chromatik footballers were badly injured, but the event proved to everyone that nobody was truly safe.

Finally, at the end of the most recent election, twenty-eight Representatives from the Rainbow Party and the Traditionalist Party joined forces to bring forth a new party, the Saebitdang, or the New Light Party. Hélène Embroise, the previous #1 confidant of Keri Wyse Art, the Premier, heads the New Light Party, breaking the supermajority of power that the Rainbow Party enjoyed and plunging the country into an uncertain future. (This RP has a good glossary of most recent events.) If you want a spoiler for what's really going on, click here.

Glossary of Abbreviations:
RP - Rainbow Party
Trads - Traditionalist Party
CP - (now-defunct) Chromatik Party
ROYG - Red Orange Yellow Green community (the previously lower class in the prior regime)
BIV+ - Blue Indigo Violet plus community (the previously upper class in the prior regime)
NLP - New Light Party (Saebitdang)
NYK - Nyowani Kitara
CFF - Chromatik Football Federation, the organization in charge of the Chromatik National Team and the Rainbow League System
(the) SH - Shadow Hand
BanAm - Ambassador to Banija
NewBanAm - New Ambassador to Banija
Cont - Controller

1401 West Bronlyn Avenue
Chromia, Capital District, Chromatika

Taking care to make sure that he wasn't being followed, Henry Jackson opened the door of the small two-bedroom apartment that he had been renting for the last two weeks. Since the acquisition of the bomb and the remote acquisition device, he'd utilized some of the acting skills he had learned from his college days to start looking at possible sites to exact his vengeance. Using a different disguise every day, he was quite confident that he hadn't been recognized.

There were eight buildings in the Chambers of the Legislature, and about thirty-three different spots to take advantage of. He'd narrowed it down to three areas. They would cause maximum damage, some casualties, and be symbolic - the first was near the statue of Franscesca Larriet-Cortes, the second was near the Chromatik coat of arms (why did Chromatika need a coat of arms anyway when it isn't a kingdom nor an empire?), and third was in the mezzanine - where everyone congregated between sessions.

The case that had been presented to him got through most metal detectors, because only very small parts of it is made of magnetic medals. He had no idea where such a device had come from, but he didn't care. It would get the job done. People would understand that Chromatika wouldn't change overnight and that both the RP and the NLP weren't flawless. If that happened, he didn't care what happened to the rest.

Yes, if he had to be martyred for what he believed in, if he had to be the Traditionalist's Larriet-Cortes to change Chromatika, he would be fine with that.

That was the moment that the back door of the apartment blew in, and a bunch of soldiers clad in all black stormed the apartment. Before he could do anything, a tranquilizer dart pierced Henry Jackson's neck, and his world went dark.

One of the masked soldiers took out a cell phone from their pocket.

"Package acquired," he said flatly, "Moving to safehouse. Let HEx know things are a go."

Just like that, the plans of Henry Jackson ended, and the plans of an entirely different kind began to take root...

[Oberour Ar Moro]

The Start of Something

As the Dragoons of Oberour Ar Moro lined up to begin their Cup of Harmony campaign against the Rice Farmers of Sendhang, there was a sense of unease in the air.

After a 7-0-2 finish to their World Cup qualifying effort, the Oberour Ar Moro national team travelled to the Commonwealth of Baker Park for a friendly, where they lost two-zero. They then returned to Regium to face off against Poafmersia in a friendly, where they lost zero-one. Two games, two losses, zero goals. These were merely warm-ups to finalize rosters, but it still caused concern.

But when the whistle blew and the ball was kicked off at the Recreation Ground in St. Thomas, The Licentian Isles, the Dragoons resumed their competitive form and began their Cup of Harmony campaign with a 3-1 victory.

Oberour Ar Moro struck first on a Nycollas Mauranghas goal in the 19th minute. Claudes Filion had won the ball off of Sendhang's Nanang Wirajuda. Filion passed on to Sebastian Chapuisseur who worked his way up field on an individual ran to the penalty box. He then attempted an audacious thundering shot which was blocked by Albertus Wageo, the Sendhang goalkeeper. Unfortunately for Wageo, the blocked ball volleyed into the path of the oncoming Mauranghas, who slotted the ball into the goal.

The second goal came in the 40th minute. Laou le Boutonnier had a throw deep in the Sendhang half. He found Seguinus Tesserant de Linge, who surprised the man marking him with a deep crossing pass to Ronan Vrely, playing closer to the middle of the pitch. Vrely found Nycollas Mauranghas near the goal, and Mauranghas used his first touch to get it past the Sendhang defender and coolly scored his second goal of the match.

Sendhang came out of the half eager to find a way back into the game, and finally broke through in the 53rd minute. Teuku Hassan Al Qari pulled the Rice Farmers within one off a corner. The Dragoons, however, issued a nearly immediate reply. A well-positioned Renald Gayrard was found by Peire de Baingneus near goal in the 57th minute, and he headed the ball home. Both sides had further scoring opportunities late in the game, but the game ended there, and the Dragoons earned their three points.

Oberour Ar Moro now prepares to face off against the Independent Athletes from Quebec. The Grim Reapers are the top seed in Group L and begun their Cup with a victory against World Cup qualification overachievers Kyzhurkistan. The win must have been a relief after their incredible struggle in World Cup qualifying. Poor results led to the Royal Quebecois Football Association President, members of their federation, all the team's coaches, and multiple players being forced out. And the penance is still not paid. While the Oberours have hotel rooms through the Cup, the Quebecois are sleeping in RVs. If they're lucky.

The Dragoons-Grim Reapers match sees two of the Cup of Harmony's most attack-minded teams, and the group's top two sides, facing off with advancement into the Round of 32 starting to emerge over the horizon. Fireworks are very possible. The Dragoons can only hope the fireworks are more red-and-gold colored.

Cup of Harmony 82 Schedule
WIN | DRAW | LOSS

MD01: Oberour Ar Moro 3 – 1 Sendhang
MD02: Independent Athletes from Quebec (1-0-0) v Oberour Ar Moro (1-0-0)
MD03: Oberour Ar Moro (1-0-0) v Kyzhurkistan (0-0-1)

[Qasden]

---

Hot As Heck: The Trifling Finale to a Trilogy

---

By Tomathan Hammerland

Bout a week ago, after finally making my way back home from Valanora, my job decided it was an optimal time to ship me off to a place I couldn't just row back from. Montaña Verde, a member of the Graentfjaller Commonwealth, home to copious amounts of big trees, big wildlife, and humidity so bad the sauna industry collapsed. As wack as the weather can be (regardless of what the locals tell you), there was no greater telling why my presence was needed here than the banners adorning city streets across the country. The Cup of Harmony (or to these weirdos, the 'Copa de la Armonia') had made its way to the rainforest republic, damn well making it one of the fastest turnarounds I'd ever seen between debuting and hosting. Joining them were the Licentian Isles, a rather familiar face in the grand sporting multiverse, even more so in Esportiva's circle. Together, the duo launched an ambitiously large-scale tournament, dragging the clubs of 56 nations together to compete for the ultimate prize: a shiny trophy lifted only 81 times before. Some big names popped up in the group announcements, such as the cup's defending champions, Trolleborg. and the last World Cup's host, South Newlandia. Horrifying enough, however, were the arrivals of Starblaydia and Chromatika, two A-tier squads that struck a rough blow in the qualifiers, an even bigger blow to other CoH competitors.

It seems a little odd as to why I'm even talking about the Cup of Harmony in its present form. Qasden last competed in the tournament's 72nd edition, losing the quarter-final match to eventual champions, Mercedini, before briefly joining the ranks of the regularly qualifying nations to the WC Proper. Qads long associated the tournament as an artifact of the nation's past, symbolized by the two, silver-studded stars seared atop the FA's crest. It was heresy to think about the modern editions...at least, 'til now, that is. Though the Vans once again missed out on getting 4th place in the World Cup Group Stage, Qasden's dramatic efforts towards the end earned enough pity from organizers to award them the return they've been softlocked from for a near eternity. The 82nd Cup of Harmony had been desperate enough to welcome us back, 10 tournaments since our last foray.

Aside from the big beef in the room, the occasion marked other little nuances deemed fated by Qads. The NewVans would finally debut in the CoH, 4 cycles since their qualifier debut. Icarus Darsten, who captained the champion squads of CoHs 69 and 70, led the team now as the General Manager. Most fascinating, it would mark the first Cup of Harmony since the nation's formal debut in WC76 resulting in travel to a Rushmori-affiliated nation. I don't think that last one's true, but it's spreading online and frankly I don't give enough of a damn to look it up formally. It's a big deal, essentially, one that alerted several old fans who'd long since forgotten the nation's happenstance of visiting the second-rung tournament. Yet there they were, being drawn for the slim chances of slapping a third silver star on the crest, becoming only the fifth team in history to do it. I say slim for obvious reasons, of course; unlike our inane victories in the days of yore, the competition here is rife with a strength the NewVans would undoubtedly be overwhelmed by. So, going into the commonwealth nation, Darsten had arranged for a set of 3 goals for the team to achieve. Ambitiously would be taking the title home on their first time back in eons, but a more realistic manner was the garnering of 1 victory in knockouts. To the ex-captain, a mere appearance in the Round of 16 would symbolize a great success for the squad, predominantly alluding to his own team's endpoint in their first go-around at CoH 68. Of course, the final, overall goal, was the most boring of them all: to have fun and fight with style. With the draw concluded and the matches arranged, it would soon become clearer why the guy had such a barebones epiphany.

The tournament consisted of 14 groups of 4, half sent to each nation with no escape routes planned until group stages conclude. The Vans, in all their Pot 3 glory, found themselves marked with Group D, a pungent task of volatile opponents. Even with the tournament's guarantee of awarding advancement spots to the top 32, making that list looked harder than ever imagined with the list of teams against us.

So who do we deal with first, huh? Surely it's gotta be some obscure nation that we've never played befo-

Oh...them? Well, if that's the case...

Let's have some fun with it.

Y'know, tying and forcing the leaders of an entire region to deal with playoffs doesn't sound nearly as fun anymore, does it? That's a lie, of course there was still mischief afoot! The Kick Corps are a dauntless bunch, but a mere cat scratch struck down their ambitious girlbossing for the auto-qualification spot, giving them the seemingly simple task of defeating a much smaller threat: Milchama. All they had to do was win the aggregate against the lads directly south of us on the map, and yet, here they are in the Cup of Harmony. This hurts our egos too, man, we can't even say we're the best team on the damn river anymore. Thankfully, the eventual mutually-assured rock throwing festival would occur in neutral territory this time: outside the Estadio Nacional Maialen Gracia Ybarra (yeesh that's a typeful) in cattle-ridden Rocalaro. With nowhere else to go, the eventual re-rematch of the cycle would come to a start.

Ok, truth be told, I totally blacked out in the middle of this match. I get these all the time during games of sheer interest, so maybe that's a good sign? All I know is that, when I woke up, the stoppage whistle signaled the end to a 3-0 blanking. A brutal start for the Qads, but hey, that's just the Cup of Harmony for ya. No wait, the Vans won?! 3-0. Against a vengeful Drawkland who we couldn't tell was more scared of us or our cartographic geography. The Corps had been subdued to the highest content; a suave of goals from Ike Sexton and Shug de la Fontaine kept the game away from an absolutely livid Sonnelian crowd. It wasn't until Uwu Lekoye, midfielder and new starter this cycle, shut the match down once and for all with a dirty hat trick.

You can't tell me anyone saw that bullshiz coming. From losing horrifically to Drawkland, to drawing them in a goalfest, to outright spanking them in the same cycle. Did...did Darsten spike the water with hope or something?

The unexpected dub was astonishing, but far from unwelcomed. Cats and enslaved cat owners alike celebrated deep into the night for the first time in awhile, a feast for the 3 points Qasden surely wouldn't have acquired. For one night, the Vans could see themselves like they did in the old days, but a trip across town would soon prove to be the nudging point towards whether or not that dream would be a reality. Still donning the nationally-adored calico jerseys (mind the superstition), Qasden now travels to Rocalaro's Estadio Deportivo Cyprien Portillo Serrato to face the Pot 4 squad of the group: The 14 Stars. While not off to as an impressive start as the Blue-Reds, it do be worth noting the bad-assery in the Storm Wolves' moniker.

So that's where were at. Can Icarus Darsten and the Vans outclass two weeks worth of celestial bodies? Or will these acosmic forces show a side unseen before in their clash against our playoff-hoping cat rascals? Stay tuned, stay updated, and my lord, get me a drink of water, live from the lush, steamy jungles of Montaña Verde!

---

[Eshialand]

Shake and Bake (Up the Roster!)
Eshialand 1-1 Legalese

"So you're telling me he's been benchwarming for two and a half years?" the vice-president of the Eshialand Soccer Federation asked the Federation's President, also known as Coach Morgan.
"Calace?" he replied, not knowing what this phone call was about.
"Yeah, of course you numbskull!"
"Okay, no need to be so dismissive... but yes, he's been on the bench basically the whole time... since the Baptism of Fire."
"And you're meaning to tell me that, in his first cap in two full years, he up and scores the match-tying goal?"
"Well... yes?"

Vice-President Gregorius Moffré was beside himself. He actually put down the phone for a second and walked away from it to let out a good rage-releasing scream before picking it up again, yelling "AND YOU DON'T SEE A F***ING PROBLEM WITH THAT?????"
"He's not one of the best 11 players, so--"
"So what??? You realize why we didn't qualify for the World Cup you absolute butt-cheek for brains?? The starting XI's rigidity is turning brittle and snapping this team right when it counts!!!"
"In my defense, this guy was one of the ones I started in the Massacre on Highchurch Street, we all know how that went..."
"THAT'S NO EXCUSE TO WAIT TWO YEARS TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE!!!!!!"

"Every time we start new people, it backfires on us! You remember that Sendhang match, and the one in Græntfjall too!" the coach replied.
"THOSE WERE IN 2021, AND THIS IS 2023!!!" Gregorius takes a deep breath before continuing in a calmer tone of voice. "You can't just think that not giving people a chance is a good idea, right? You don't need to start the same eleven players every single match to satisfy the pedantic needs of some extra-dimensional being from another multiverse! People get tired! People itch to play! People want a chance, and some of them damn well deserve chances!"

Coach Morgan just stared blankly off into the distance as he listened to this rant, beside himself wondering what he did to deserve it.

"So what say you, Mr. Coach, Mr. Man-Who's-Technically-My-Boss-But-I-Don't-Care-Because-He's-Being-a-Wacky-Putty-for-Brains?"

"Uhm..." he replied. "Well, I mixed the roster a bit during the Baptism of Fire cycle, and I found my eleven. Tweaks have been made since, but this team has worked better than ever!"
"So you're saying that, when you were mixing up the roster, we won a WCC trophy, but what you learned from that is... that we shouldn't mix up the roster anymore?"
"Well..."
"Ugh, I've had enough of this, Morgan. Start at least three non-regulars or I'm having the board impeach you."
"But our next match is against Poaf--"
"NO BUTS!!!!"

Gregorius then hangs up the phone before throwing it out of a 73rd-floor window into Lake Ontario. All Coach Morgan had to say was "Damn, Vice-President Moffré's even more unhinged than I remembered..."

Eshialand - 1 (Calace 76')
Legalese - 1 (Kawaguchi 42')

[Savigliane]

The mood in the hotel room was celebratory. The Saviglianos had had a rough cycle, both on and off the pitch, but a dominant 4-1 victory over Saterun indicated that there was potential for a deep Cup of Harmony run. It was no World Cup, of course, but maybe some silverware was on the horizon?

"Who've we got next?" asked Adélaïde Garcia idly, while scrolling through highlights on her phone.

"Yuezhou," replied her roommate, Óceane Chastain.

"Ugh," Adélaïde replied, "I hate Yuezhou."

"Why's that?"

"Because they sold out their own people to Græntfjaller corporations?" Thea Squarciafichi piped up from the corner.

"Shut up, Nafuna," the center-back replied with a smile. "It's just the way they play. Just a lot of...running up and down, not really doing anything. I know they've got the new guy in and he's got an attacking style, but it used to be pretty bad. They'd just...like, stare at you while dumping ten guys behind the ball, and then as soon as someone messed up, they'd just run five attacking midfielders at your goal in a straight line."

As if on cue, Federico Arnaudo had walked by the open door and dropped in. "Did someone say takilante?"

"Nobody said takilante, dude. We were just talking about Yuezhou."

"Ugh," Federico said upon hearing this, "I hate Yuezhou."

Óceane looked up with a start. "Why do you hate Yuezhou? Are there even any Yueren in the Gold League?"

"Is it because of their cultural genocide in Sangau?" Thea offered. "I can't believe Wen Xiaohui is still playing for them. Biggest hypocrite I've ever seen."

Federico shook his head. "I just watch a lot of the Zenith. Huang's their main guy, right? That dude's a midget. Every time I watch Coret I wonder why the opposing center back doesn't just, like, eat him. We'll destroy them next match."

"There's a Yue midfielder in the S-FPL," Óceane said idly, "she kept crying when we played her. Like, not even just tearing up. One time we were lining up for a corner kick and she just started sobbing into the ground. But that's just a normal reaction to playing for La Querida."

"Oh, with the lawsuit, right?"

"Yeah."

A brief silence followed. Young winger Bonagiunta Rossi, who was living next to Óceane and Adélaïde, took the opportunity to walk over and step in. "Could you guys keep it the fuck down? Some of us are trying to get our beauty sleep," he said.

"Chill, bro," Thea replied, sitting up slightly. "We're just talking. It's not like Tuzzio is going to un-drop you."

Rossi stiffened at the comment, and Adélaïde, not wanting her room to turn into a war zone, tried to defuse the situation. "Hey Bona, what do you think about Yuezhou?"

The young winger redirected his rage. "Oh, fuck Yuezhou. I can't believe I have to play against those guys, like, ten times a year in the Red League. I swear they're everywhere at this point. And don't get me started on Wan Sheping."

"Zoë told me he's dirty as shit," Óceane offered.

"No, he is. That guy tried to murder me when we played Wirr Tsi. Watch your ankles when we play them, guys."

"Just tell Chiara to knock him out or something," Thea quipped. "Serves him right."

"Nah, gotta keep your captain on the pitch. If Tuzzio keeps not fucking starting me I'll do it myself," Bonagiunta replied.

"Can we cool it with the attempted murder talk?" That was Chiara Blanco, now standing in the doorframe.

"Chiara, thoughts on Yuezhou?" Adélaïde asked her center-back partner, stifling a laugh.

"Eh, they're alright." The shift in the room's atmosphere was palpable. "We'll smash them in two days, though."

"That's more like it," Adélaïde laughed.

"Chiara, has Huang Shedong ever scored on you?" Federico asked his new captain.

"I'm always tempted to, like, just pick him up and move him somewhere else when the ref isn't looking. He's too quick, though."

"That's what I said!"

"What about, uh, who are the other guys in the Zenith? Luo?"

"Who? No, I meant Liu. Is she good?"

Chiara laughed. "Some people think so. She just falls down and shit. Uh, Reeve, on Coret, if you count her."

"They don't have any of their own right-backs?"

"Guess not."

"Can you imagine, like, being a journalist and having to write about such a boring, talentless country?" Óceane quipped, looking directly into the camera. That's gotta be the saddest shit I've ever heard in my life."

[Gyatso-kai]

╠A JOURNEY THROUGH THE PORTAL╣
A Multi-part Series

.:: TABLE OF CONTENTS ::.

|Chapter I | Chapter II | Chapter III | Chapter IV | Chapter V | Chapter VI | Chapter VII | Chapter VIII

::: Office of the Director, The National Institute of Cartography and Vexillology, Fengxian District, Republic City, Gyatso-kai :::
1352 hours, 30 January 2022.1

It had been two hours since the Director of the National Institute of Vexillology and Cartography, a portal man named Kimura Halldor, had called a recess for Commander Shercru Li to call in what amounted to as ‘witnesses’ in what was less of a trial and more of a debate. She had ended the first round of negotiations with the bomb that somewhere in the vast array of alternate universes – so lovingly referred to as the multi-verse – there existed such an entity known as the “Avatarian Empire”, and this entity had conquered not just all four of the Elemental Nations, but had made significant gains into the lands surrounding it in the multi-verse region of Incarnate, seeking to conquer more than just historically Avatarian lands.

******************

”Could such a thing exists?” Kimura raised an eyebrow, when Li had dropped its mention.

”In the multi-verse, Director,” Li put both of her hands on the table, bracing slightly. She took a slight breath, and looked up to meet his stare. ”Anything is possible, and frankly, we are not prepared for any situation that deviates from a perfect outcome.”

“How can you say that, Commander,” Zhao moved himself away from the table. Zhao Feng, a former Brigadier General within the Grand Army of the Republics and now Deputy Director of the clandestine organization known as the deceitfully-misleading Earthbending Corps of Agricultural Development, had been sent by the Council of Nations to discuss a most-absurd of plans with Li and the Director of the NICV, one which Li had not yet heard in full yet, only being able to piece it together through their conversations. ”You have so little faith in our abilities that you’d…”

“It is not a lack of faith, General,” Li interrupted. ”There are simply too many variables at play and not enough reward should we make a mistake. One of the first subjects I interacted with was from a multi-verse torn apart by wars waged after the death of their Avatar Roku.”

Zhao turned back towards Li, his arms brought to his chest and crossed as he leaned against one of the columns. ”Go on.”

“It seemed that some nuclear weapon had been launched by a faction she called ‘The Imperial Reds’ that wanted to free the nation from the Avatar’s rule. Managed to get ahold of early-stage nukes – a couple kilotons, by her estimates…”

“Her?”

“Yes,” Li answered, looking back to the digi-table and entering a few codes. The table had been connected to the IMVTS’ database, and with her clearance, she could easily pull up video and data about each and every subject. A quick search would bring her up, but not before Li saw the old photo taken of Lin when he arrived, and noted how long ago it was. Sure, it was just eight ji ago, but Li could see just how much time had worn away his youthful face. She quickly typed in the name, and brought her file up on the digi-table.

”Guo Jingyi. Age 32. Studied Nuclear Physics at Roku College of Science, in Hao City, Rokuan.”

“Where…”

“Our best guess is it is a temporal analog to Yu Dao, sir,” Li shrugged. ”Often times when these people emerge, it is difficult to place them on corresponding maps, since we know nothing about their multi-verse and usually… nothing here correlates.”

“I was a fortunate one,” Lin smiled. ”All of ‘your’ Gyatso-kai was what I knew as the Earth Islands, and the capital was where the Olao basin was in ‘my’ Gyatso-kai.”

“Back to Jingyi,” Li motioned. ”She was a graduate of RCS, which in their timeline, had been one of the last loyalist strongholds where they were working on weapons to bring about the end to what she called ‘The Last War’. See, in our ‘verse, Roku lived to the ripe old age of 91, and died of natural causes in his sleep. In their ‘verse, Roku was assassinated in 1948, right before the final push to end The Great War.”

“Meaning…”

“There was never a ‘Gyatso-kai’ as we knew it,” Li sighed, bringing up hand-drawn maps and hand-written documents from Guo. A common practice, the Institute would have any subjects spend their first few weeks there attempting to document as much of their homeland as possible while it was as fresh in their mind as possible. What Li and the other researchers had discovered is that, despite the multitude of places and times these people had come from, the majority of the them shared similar geography and similar histories; albeit minor differences. For Guo, it was a bit more drastic than that. Her multi-verse had the Avatarian lands spreading throughout a great region known as ‘Incarnate’. It was a region forged in war, bathed in the blood of countless innocents and even more countless soldiers. Her world did not have ‘clones’, they did not stumble upon the Kaminoans who had first taught the Avatarians of not only cloning, but of temporal theory and the potential for travel.

But that was neither here nor there…

Li pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, and re-addressed the group before her. ”Instead, the Fire Nation continued to push into the other elemental nations and surrounding territories in the region she referred to as ‘Incarnate’ before pulling back and solidifying their rule and becoming the Empire of Fire. Her nation, named after Roku, attempted to unify what was left of the free elemental nations, and with the Air tribes scattered and in hiding, there never was an Avatar reborn. Jingyi thought that it was the year 1960 in the Gregorian system, though she wasn’t certain as her nation did not use that calendar and instead referred to an imperial calendar, to which she said was started when the current emperor came into power… some warlord.”

“No Avatar? How is that possible?”

“Simply put sir,” Li spoke, her voice hinting at a more sinister idea. ”The Air tribes were all but eradicated, and she said they had not seen a single member in near-twenty-years.”

“But if the Avatar was killed as a child, it would have been reborn into the next nation… Into Water.”

“Yes, but as the reborn Avatar would have not been able to give any clue as to the future of their rebirth, the Sages would have no idea where to start looking. With the entirety of the Water Tribes either decimated or under the dominion of the Empire of Fire, it would become a fruitless search that the Sages would have to undertake without any help from the Empire, and a search by Rokuan loyalists would be deemed a waste of resources scarce during war.”

Zhao sighed, before sitting back. ”I appreciate the history lesson, Commander, however, I’d rather hear it from the source,” Zhao murmured as he stood. “Director, with your approval, I’d like a recess called in this meeting, to allow Commander Li to call forth a few of these temporal uh… transplants. I’d like to speak to them directly over the next few days before I return to the Council with a decision.”

A few?, Li looked to her chrono, noting the time. How soon could I gather them all here?

”Very well,” Kimura waved a hand. Li reached immediately for her phone and began calling the first name on her list of 'temporal jumpers' as they called themselves.

I hope your home Jingyi...

[Kyzhurkistan]

Player Ratings

||7|| Chyngyz Halikov

The veteran goalie started the game with the knowledge that he had at least a decade of experience over any of the opponents and it showed at times. There were the traditional little shoves on corners, the cheeky waits before a goal kick whilst the Kyzhurki were still in on a point and the bone-shattering jumps with the knees up high, in short, nothing we haven’t seen from Halikov before. But he played one of his grandest tricks already on the first free kick when instead of just taking a sip of water, he took a marinated steak from his drinking bottle and held it in front of Morozov. The frustrated and hungry winger tried to push the goalie for a bite, landing a yellow card instead. Shenanigans, but they did get into the oppositions head. In terms of goalkeeping, Halikov was good and could do little about the two opposing goals.

||7|| Atay Maksutov

Doing the line in the Oval or being that three-lunged winger back in Zhachek, it all seems the same for ‘Maks’. In what is always a battle of wits, he managed to force Eloise Kweon to chase him rather than the other way around in the first forty-five minutes. The balance did shift a little as time ran out and the Quebecois pushed forward, but he still managed to contain most of the dribbles from the Sabrefell Moths striker. A late tackle near the corner flag put Maksutov on a yellow card and that is a minor blemish for his game, but all in all it was a stellar performance from a player who came across like a fish in water.

||5|| Adilet Mamataliev

Not an easy game for Mamataliev who initially was tasked with the containment of Woodcarver. A string of lost duels early forced Chinbayev to an early position switch, making him the back-up rather than the guardian in defence. It was a task better suited and although he left little of an impression, he could keep up with the pace till the last half hour. During that period, the whole team drowned a little but he was the first to go head under with a poor intervention on a cross which allowed Vegeta to score the equalizer. Was involved in a late penalty incident as well, but the ref ruled it outside the box. Possibly a liability in the next game, another confrontation with a team opting for a highly-offensive 4-3-3 formation.

||7|| Erlan Satybaldiev

While his partner in crime fell short in the crucial moments, Satybaldiev lived up to the expectation. Took over the management of Woodcarver and even if the two matched one another, he could keep her further away from the danger zone with a few well-timed slide tackles. His defensive focus meant that we saw little from his otherwise heralded cross passes, something which cost the team dearly in the final third where they couldn’t create the breathing space required to release the pressure. Missed his direct opponent on a corner or two and was lucky that those didn’t cost the Tigers.

||6|| Medet Kazakov

Always the less spectacular of the duo of Zhachek wing defenders, Kazakov kept his focus on containing the infiltrations from Alexei Morozov. The result was a series of handsy duels which could have seen both players end up in the dressing room but which inexplicably ended without a yellow. Not too academically advanced, but it sufficed to keep the Sanford striker out of the game. Only infiltrated a few times and with meagre effect, it starts to become a pattern that against opponents of this calibre, he can contribute little in attack. Nonetheless a loyal and clean performance from Kazakov who keeps Isaev on the bench like this.

||5|| Sanzhar Ayetbaev

A debut in front of fifty thousand people, it clearly did something with the replacement of cornerstone Tamirlan Atabaev. In his first few touches, we missed the sober and composed style of play which has become synonymous with him. The vastly talented Babin is still knocking on the door of the Sabrefell Moths, but figuratively knocked over Ayetbaev a few times in the first quarter of the game. Ayetbaev recovered a little afterwards and seemed to grow in it, but a loss of possession close to home of his allowed JC Babin to score the winner with extra-time just around the corner. In absence of better news for Atabaev, Ayetbaev will need to step it up against Oberour ar Moro to avoid an early elimination for the Tigers.

||7|| Tair Shamshiev

Every once and a while, Tair Shamshiev puts in one of those performances where he is so unnoticeable that it becomes truly remarkable. The statistics confirmed this after the game, with over ninety percent of his touches going to the right person, albeit more often than not opting for a safe option on the wing rather than searching for a direct goal opportunity. Yet, it allowed Kyzhurkistan to stave off the pressure for an hour and regroup in time. Only when the Vdaran coach ‘Lüka… Lukaek… the Vdaran coach threw in the inspiring Wawanolett as manmarker, Shamshiev lost that midfield control and so did the squad.

||8|| Maksat Omorov

Still only twenty-three but it is clear that he is evolving at a great rate with Ausharmuj Marusi. That he immediately won a starting spot in the Shango-Fogoa Premier League came as a surprise to all but with games like this, he will inspire more foreign scouts to take a look in our top division. As always a great servant to the team, Omorov remained the only one with the energy to chase down possession in the second half and it nearly brought in a second goal, one that could have blown the Grim Reapers off track definitively. However, after a long rush, he opted for the unselfish option whilst a bit more confidence could see him become the actual on-pitch leader of this eleven.

||6|| Mirbek Zhuraev

Knew early on that he was up for a difficult confrontation as Morin-Antonoff scythed him down on the first duel. The resulting stare from the Southern Star star started a startling confrontation in which Zhuraev lost a bit track of his primary task, to create danger where it was required. Not to say that there weren’t any good moments from Zhuraev, but they were scarce. Nonetheless he played his role with the preparation of the opening goal and a free kick of his formed one of the rare chances for the Tigers in the second half but Middleton had an outstretched hand to keep him from a majestic moment. Good, but with a bit more focus, he should be able to deliver more.

||8|| Attokur Rakhimov

In a way, it was only the extra time that stood between a legendary status and the current haul: being the first Kyzhurki to score at a Cup but without any points to show for it. Strong and swift, Rakhimov scored with his trademark skill, picking up a deep pass and finishing it with a thundering shot. Got the better of Chewbacca in the air and formed a welcome receiving point of passes to the front, one more wayward than the next. Despite keeping two direct opponents occupied, he found room for a few more chances. Unfortunately pointed to his hamstring early in the second half but would return for the second game. It will be needed.

||6|| Belek Sarybaev

There is little one can hold against the performance from the Tefoil forward but his tactical task, to hunt down room created by Rakhimov, eventually resulted in doing a lot of miles with little tangible results. Whilst we saw him fight a lot of duels for possession, this mainly sapped his legs and bit by bit, the infiltrations from Ukaleq, Cizeron and Coriolan forced him to retreat in support of the midfield. Completely worn out, Chinbayev should have protected him with a substitution but he only got relieved from his duties after an unnecessary yellow card. A lot of heart but it only landed a single good opportunity which went a few centimetres wide.

||6|| Dilmurod Kharimov

Came in with the difficult task to replace Rakhimov, one for which he is known to miss the mobility. Nonetheless allowed Kyzhurkistan originally to deposit the ball in the opposing half and keep it out of danger. Bit by bit, even those didn’t came anymore and he was forced to close down gaps in our defensive structure, something which he did with energy and vigour, but cost him the freshness to make anything of the few crosspasses.

||5|| Kayrat Umarov

Had been brought in for Sarybaev to pick up the ball and menace the Quebecois defensive line, but saw little of the leather. The few times that he could make something out of it, the first touch or the fast thinking was missing. A performance which suits his Jeckyll and Hyde run so far with the national team, forcing Chinbayev to consider more opportunities for 19-year old Temirbolot Sattarov.

|NVT| Erzan Sagynbaev

Played only the last six minutes during which he mainly tried to keep the ball out of the zone in front of the box. Couldn’t prevent the eventual winning goal either.

[Trolleborg]

Greetings, compatriots!
It's TTV from Licentian Islands. This country together with Monte Verde hosts Cup of Harmony, and we are happy to send you a good news from here. Altough you already know result and all, let's relive recent victory over Cordian Isles - very precios victory due to the fact that opponents was tough and dedicated team and three points was scratched out from them after a real good fight. Atlantic Oceania is a region with great sporting traditions, which gave a life to the stubborn and skilful teams and this time opponents definitely prove this.

Immediately after game begins, the struggle for every ball was in full swing throughout the field, but, which must be noted, everything was correct, and everything not turning into a series of collisions, fouls, whistles and free kicks. Cordians didn't crowded close to the goal, and when they got hold of the ball they didn’t roll it across the field, but at every opportunity they tried to organize an attack. Several times Krogh had to come into play after dangerous shots and once he missed the ball after a corner kicj, but, fortunately, no one was expected such errors from him, and so much that all the Cordians in the penalty area did not react in time and put ball into the net. Our forwards constantly have a difficulties to do something creative near the opponents box, due to the dense and dedicated defence builded by Cordian team, and due to that much efforts was put to pressure opponents to make a mistakes and physically exhaust them. But only in second half its all give our team something sensible. After long cross from the flank Skrta managed to overplay defender who opposed him and make a shot on goal, but not very successful. Fortunately, tired Cordians do not reacted properly and move forward to make offside as concerted as they (we are already found this) can do.

Kranforde, who remain near the gates just for the case, converted Skrta shot into the pass, take the ball and bring it to the net - in not a much spectacular manner, but nevertheless it was a goal, and, as it was turned out, it bring team a much-needed victory.

At the end of the game Cordians goes forward in big numbers and almost succeed in bringing game to draw. Fortunately, after two dangerous shots ball goes just wide of the net. But it was not known what will happen if game will be played a few minutes more.

Delight of fans that game was ended was obvious. Popular opinion about this game was that Trolleborg team did not demonstrate best possible game, but got the victory, and it is still not decided properly which is better.

Next day will spent by the team on a holiday trip around. But this decision is not goes without much criticism. Altought it was worth to spend some time at lush forests and beaches of Licentian Islands, but many put question mark if such a trips are good for a team.

[Cabo Azure]

Geektopia 4–3 Cabo Azure
Starters: Antunes | de Lima, Medeiro, Moniz (off 55'), K. Brandão, Branco (goal 51')| Ferreira, Maciel (off 66'), Serra | Dantas (goal 24'), Silveira (goal 44')
Substitutes: Mendez (on 55'), Alves (on 66')

A disappointing, but not altogether surprising, loss to start the Maçaricas' maiden Cup of Harmony campaign. Cabo Azure executed their 5-3-2, with the fullbacks getting forward to provide width, but the formation's limitations going forward were on display against a seasoned opponent, as even the blistering pace of Branco and de Lima was frequently inadequate to get back in time and defend. Young Narciso Maciel proved his worth as a pivot, distributing excellently, but like his fullbacks, failed to provide enough cover on defense and often left his centerbacks exposed.

Offense was the success story of the day, as the Maçaricas matched Geektopia goal-for-goal in the first half and only fell behind in the second when tired legs gave up more chances, which were subsequently punished by the more experienced side. Rolke opened the scoring for both sides with a deep run that caught Maciel flatfooted and split two of the centerbacks for an open shot on goal. Dantas managed to answer ten or so minutes later with a goal from a strong build-up, chipped in off an excellent cross from Ferreira. Geektopia would regain the lead close to the half when Rinnert scored on a half-volley, completely unmarked at the eighteen-meter box. A midair collision between Silveira and Germaine Sophie (the defender) involving a stray elbow got Sophie a ticky-tack yellow and Silveira a shot at goal, which he converted to equalize.

Entering the second half 2-2, the Maçaricas would briefly take the lead when Branco made one of his heroic coast-to-coast runs, sliding in behind the Geektopian backline and firing across the mouth of goal. The 3-2 scoreline would hold long enough for the Maçaricas to become comfortable, only to get burned when de Lima inadvertently played Ringwald onside, setting up a tap-in goal in which none of the centerbacks were in position. The final goal of the match came around the eightieth minute when Brandão conceded a corner kick, which Abdill headed in without any great ceremony.

The Maçaricas next face Muralos, who notched an impressive 1-1 draw against Pot 1 team Tikariot. Though favored to win by the narrowest of margins, the Maçaricas will need to execute better in the back if they want to have a chance at a result.

Doctor Fonseca, pt 2
Montreal, Quebec and Shingoryeo, ten years ago
The student union building at Farrer University bustled with activity, youthful energy thrumming through the place, as loud and intrusive as feedback from a microphone. Well-heeled young men and women mingled in small groups, lounged on overstuffed couches, or typed away at all manner of smart devices. Alex Fonseca, tall and gaunt and nineteen, her sallow face shrouded in black curls, hustled to the little student post office, laptop bag banging against her bony hip.

“Disculpe-me,” she muttered to each of her classmates as she wove between them. Her English left a lot to be desired, and she found she still thought mostly in Portuguese, especially when she was stressed or tired. She’d come a long way in the year since she’d been offered to study at Farrer, but she didn’t know how she’d passed her English proficiency exam at the start of the academic term.

Nor was the situation helped by the fact that she’d made few friends in Quebec thus far, and most of her social contact came from calls to friends back in Cabo Azure. She’d been in her final year of secondary when her mother, an emeritus professor of political science, got a call from a colleague in Quebec. The colleague said that Farrer was looking to expand its foreign recruiting base, and asked whether Alex would consider studying there.

Her mother, who’d gone to secondary in Cassadaigua, was thrilled at the possibility of Alex receiving an education overseas. Her father was decidedly less enthused, though he insisted the final decision should rest with Alex. Ultimately she had decided to take the plunge and thus began the yearlong process of learning English, flying to Quebec to take entrance exams, and getting her visa sorted. Now a semester in, she could understand enough English to pass her classes with regular tutoring, but socializing, never her strong suit, continued to evade her.

Alex keyed into her mailbox, removing the stack of paper that had accumulated in the weeks since she’d last checked. She rarely received anything worthwhile, but one of her professors had sent midterm exam results via post, and she was anxious to see hers. Setting the stack of papers on a counter, she began to sort into “keep” and “discard” piles. Advert for a campus event two weeks ago? Discard. Coupon for free ice cream? Keep. Wax-sealed envelope with no stamp and her name written in calligraphy? Keep. Not finding her exam, Alex tucked her “keep” pile into her bag, recycled the rest, and returned to her dorm.

Her roommate, May, was in the room with the lights off, eyes fixed on her monitor. She acknowledged Alex as she entered, then returned to her game. They weren’t good friends, but they were good roommates, in part because each understood the other’s need to spend hours in front of a computer each day. Alex emptied the contents of her bag onto her bed, then lay back, holding the wax-sealed envelope at arm’s length and turning it over in her hands. The calligraphy was incredibly intricate, and the wax seal bore the image of a crown. She wanted so badly to open it but found she was reluctant to break the seal lest she somehow debase its contents.

“What’s that?”

May’s voice startled Alex; she rarely spoke except into her headset. As Alex turned her head, her roommate had left the desk and was standing a few feet from her bed, eying the envelope.

“I’m not sure,” Alex answered, “It was in my mailbox when I went to get my exam result.”

“May I see?”

Alex acquiesced silently, handing May the envelope. The other woman took it in her hands and sat heavily down in her gaming chair, examining it closely. “That’s the Queen’s seal,” she observed. “It’s supposed to be illegal to replicate it, like forging a signature or counterfeiting money. So either it’s from the palace, or you’re in possession of contraband.” She smiled conspiratorially.

“Should I call the police?” Alex asked earnestly, a crease appearing above her brows.

“No,” May dismissed, “It could be legitimate, after all. Can I open it?”

“Sure.”

May produced a pair of scissors from her desk and expertly sliced the envelope open at the top, leaving the seal intact, and extracted from it a single piece of paper, printed in gold foil.

“‘Her Majesty Christine II of Quebec and His Highness Caspian of Cassadaigua request your presence at their wedding ceremony on’–” May looked at her watch “--that’s in two weeks. ‘Please contact the number provided to RSVP and for dress code and protocol information.’”

“No way that’s real,” said Alex quickly. “An invite to the royal wedding?”

“One second.” May already had her phone out and was scrolling through pictures on her social media feed. “Found it.” She presented the phone to Alex, with a photograph displayed of an invite, identical to the one in her hand, posted on the verified account of a major eSports figure in Quebec. All the details were the same, though the number was grayed out. “I know the one in the photo’s legit,” May explained, “And it looks exactly like yours. I say, call the number, see what happens.”

Suddenly Alex felt giddy. Cabo Azure hadn’t had a king since Reinaldo II was deposed forty years hence, but Azurean people still had a deep respect for monarchs. She couldn’t fathom why she would be invited to the queen of Quebec’s wedding, but the thought of it made her heart beat faster all the same. She’d seen Queen Christine and Prince Caspian on TV together, and she thought the queen to be the picture of grace and poise. Looking at May with her dark eyes wide, she dialed the number.

“Bonjour?” The voice, which answered on the first ring, was very cultured, very composed, and very Quebecois, which put Alex over the top. She moved the mouthpiece away from her face and took a few deep breaths to stifle the giggles that were welling up inside her.

“Bonjour,” she managed, “My name is Alexandra Fonseca, and I’m replying to an invitation I received by mail.” She hoped she could be understood despite her accent and near-hysterical breathing.

“Ah yes, Miss Fonseca, I’ve been awaiting your call.” There was a measured note of polite impatience in the man’s voice. “I do hope your answer is yes.”

“Of course it is!” Alex blurted. She found she couldn’t meet May’s eyes, as her roommate had given herself over to giddiness and was sitting in her chair, hands behind her head, rocking back and forth while snickering.

“Excellent.” If the man was phased by Alex’s antics, his voice didn’t betray it. “I understand you are a visiting student from Cabo Azure. Are you possessed of an outfit suitable for an occasion such as this?”

Alex’s eyes went wide, and for a moment she considered the clothes hanging in the small armoire next to her bed. “Ah, no,” she said. “I can’t say I am.”

“I thought as much.” The man’s tone held no malice, which surprised Alex; he was simply stating facts. “Do you know the location of the administration building on Farrer?”

“Yes,” Alex answered confidently.

“A car will meet you there, in front of the Quebecois flag, tomorrow at noon. Wear suitable undergarments for a fitting, and please don’t be late.”

“Yes, sir-uh, will do,” said Alex.

“One last question,” the man said evenly. “Do you have any dietary restrictions? Vegan, kosher, halal?”

“No, none.”

“Excellent. See you tomorrow.”

Alex was late by a minute or so to meet the black car and found it already in place, parked precisely as promised, in front of the Quebecois flag at the administration building. She had stepped off the curb to enter the passenger side when a man in a crisp black suit emerged from the driver’s seat to open the rear suicide door for her. She recognized the vehicle as a Magnus MS 580, though she’d never seen one outside a music video.

As soon as she was safely belted in the passenger seat, the car took off, its powerful engine thrumming as it left campus and merged onto the highway.

“Ordinarily I should like to have our in-house tailors take care of a case such as yours,” the driver said, apropos of nothing. There was no one else in the car. He went on. “They assure me that they are quite booked from now until the wedding, and so I’ve had to call in a favor with a friend in the city.”

Alex stared out the window, taking in the wide-eyed glances of people in passing vehicles, grateful for the window tint. What would they think if they saw her in the back seat of such a conveyance? She ran through the possibilities of a plain-looking nineteen year-old being chauffeured around in a Magnus, and none of them were particularly flattering. Which led her to the question of why she had been invited in the first place, but she knew enough to approach that one delicately.

“What kind of friend?” she asked lamely, unsure whether her rudimentary English carried the nuance of the question.

“The sort who runs the concierge desk at a department store,” the man answered impatiently. “As I said, not my preferred solution to enter such a place through the back door, but at least she could get us in.”

The rest of the car ride passed in silence until the car took the exit for downtown. The man expertly navigated the crowded streets, eventually pulling into a car park labeled “private”, whereupon he stepped out, opened the door for Alex, and handed the keys off to a waiting valet. He took off into the store at a brisk pace, forcing Alex to extend her long legs to keep up with him. The man was tall, she realized, taller than she was, his height accentuated by his dark suit and ramrod-straight posture.

They entered into a narrow, but luxurious hallway, marble floors and plush benches. To their right was an elevator, and the hallway eventually led to the floor of the store, which just now seemed impossibly bright and chaotic compared to the serenity of the hallway. The “friend” who met them proved to be an impeccably-dressed woman in her sixties, who watched Alex approach with a practiced unreadable expression.

“Tall,” the woman said when they were in earshot, but before they had stopped moving. “Will she be accompanied by a young man?”

“The young lady wasn’t afforded a guest, no,” answered the driver.

“Good.” The woman pursed her lips and nodded, then snapped her fingers twice. A woman about Alex’s age, dressed as impeccably as the first but without any of the poise, hustled into the room. “Bring me Stefan,” the older woman ordered. “And shoes. As many as you can find. Size…” she paused.

“I wear a women’s ten,” Alex offered tentatively.

“Eight, eight and a half,” the older woman told the younger, as if Alex hadn’t spoken. The younger woman nodded and hustled off as hurriedly as she’d entered. “Come with me,” the woman said to Alex, then to the man: “Give us, maybe two hours? Go by the jewelry counter, I’ve set some cufflinks aside for you.”

The man inclined his head, and the woman took off at a brisk pace, compelling Alex to follow her. One of the doors in the hallway led to a room surrounded by mirrors with two wheeled coat racks, one empty and one full of colorful gowns. As they entered, the woman began pulling gowns off the full rack and moving them to the empty, occasionally glancing over her shoulder at Alex and muttering to herself. On one glance, she paused and turned to face Alex.

“Please, disrobe,” she said. “We haven’t much time.”

Alex dutifully stripped down to her bra and pants, feeling the chill of the room. The woman continued working, culling dresses from consideration with dismissive clicks of the tongue. Several minutes in, the door opened and a man in his thirties entered, his hair a showy blonde pompadour and his face so immaculately made up that Alex was immediately jealous. Surprised, she attempted to cover herself and reached for her clothes. The woman continued working, only turning around when the man had already approached Alex and taken a lock of her hair between his thumb and forefinger.

“Oh, stop that,” the woman said disapprovingly. At first Alex thought she’d meant him fondling her hair, but instead she looked at where Alex’s hands crossed over her chest. “Stefan isn’t buying what you’re selling,” she told Alex blandly before turning to Stefan. “What do you think?”

“Gorgeous,” Stefan said. “So much to work with. Hair definitely up, natural makeup. So beautiful, very little for me to do there, really. Accessories? Such an exotic beauty, be a shame to dress her like everyone else. Maybe sapphires? Rubies? What are you thinking for color palette? What’s the occasion?”

An hour and a half later, Alex had followed Stefan on social media (his personal account and his makeup tutorials) and was aghast that she had ever bought clothing without his and Ji-Ho’s input, or bought clothing off the rack at all. Looking at herself in the mirror with the minimal makeup that Stefan had put on her, wearing Ji-Ho’s dress, a shift that touched her knees, she could barely recognize herself; but looking at the pile of clothes she’d discarded, she could barely recognize those, either.

“Why?” she asked the man when she climbed in the backseat.

“You needed a dress for the wedding,” the man answered blandly.

“Why am I invited? Why did you go to all this trouble to dress me?”

The man paused a moment, considering, before he answered. “That you’d have to ask your people.”

That night Alex dialed her father on video chat, as she often did. He hadn’t been expecting her call but answered quickly enough. He wore a tweed jacket and horn-rimmed glasses, and she didn’t need to see behind him to know he was in his family’s home on Sao Vicente. Luis Fonseca had been born and raised on the tiny island, studying for college exams between tending his family’s flock and making trips into town on his motorbike. Now a professor at Maritime, he rented a one-room flat in Portelo with a pub downstairs and a view of the sea, but he’d never brought his children there; instead, every holiday they’d take the long boat ride to Sao Vicente.

“Hey, sweetie,” Luis said when the connection resolved. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, dad,” Alex answered, smiling blithely. “Everything’s great. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, anything.”

“You and Mom told me her parents died when she was young, that our grandfather drank himself to death before Mom went to Cassadaigua.” Now she had his attention; he looked up at the camera, a smile playing on his full lips. “That puts it around forty years ago. Do you know who else died of liver cirrhosis around then?”

She laid it out, calm and collected as though she’d been rehearsing for her entire life: her mother’s story, starting with her birth as the only child of King Reinaldo I and his second wife, then continuing to her exile in Cassadaigua, being disinherited, and returning to Cabo Azure under an assumed name. When Alex finished, there was only one possible conclusion, that her mother was Princess Abigail, exiled as a girl and brought back incognito as a young woman. Tears streaked her face, though her voice remained steady and Stefan’s mascara held on like a champ, refusing to run and ruin her dignity.

After a moment of silence, Alex asked quietly: “She’s alive, isn’t she?”

“Who is?”

“My grandmother. Queen Carlotta. You told me all my grandparents were dead, but Carlotta was in her twenties when Mom was born. So tell me; is my grandmother alive?”

Luis closed his eyes and sighed, a gesture he’d made often when she was a girl and confounded him with a question.

“She is,” Luis said in measured tones. “She’s got a widow’s apartment in Sao Simone. Your mother visits her every week, when she can manage it.”

For some reason, this broke Alex’s heart, worse than anything else she’d uncovered in the past hour or her entire life. During their divorce, Alex’s parents had taken great pains to shelter her older brother, Manuel, from their spats, but they’d afforded their daughters no such courtesy. Ronnie had been in a high chair, truly too young to understand, but Alex had seen the two-faced way her parents presented a united front to Manuel and then dug into each other when he was gone. She expected them to lie to her, to take her power away and tell her it was for her own good. She’d long ago made peace with that, but the thought of an old woman, her grandmother, aging alone in a tiny apartment, counting the hours until her daughter’s visits, was more than Alex could bear. She put her head down and sobbed.

“I could have visited her,” Alex complained, her voice hoarse. “I wouldn’t have come to Quebec if I had known. Jesus, that poor woman, my grandmother; she lost everything, and I had to learn about it in my fucking history class.”

Luis’s face held genuine remorse, as it had so many times throughout her childhood. He looked like he wanted to reach through the screen and hug her, and she had no doubt that if they were in the same room, he would take her in his arms and kiss the top of her head, like he always did when she was upset. The thought was comforting but did nothing to stem her rage.

“You’ll recall I didn’t want to send you to Quebec,” her father said, apropos of nothing. “I told your mother there was no way the Quebecois and Cassadagan royals would stay away. They would try to groom you the way they groomed her, but she was so inculcated by her days in Concord Heights that-”

“Then why did you marry her?” Tears renewed themselves in Alex’s wide black eyes as they bore holes in her laptop screen. “On what fucking planet do you marry a woman whose ideals are so completely incompatible with yours and give her three fucking children, then divorce her? Tell me, Luis, what part of your massive fucking brain told you that was a good idea?”

Alex had never called her father by his first name before, and she took a small measure of delight in the hurt and surprise she saw on his face. While she awaited his response, she imagined the apology he would have to give in order to win her back. He would start by apologizing for blaming everything on her mother, as if it hadn’t been a collaborative effort all the way, as if lying to their children hadn’t been the one thing her parents agreed on. It would continue with him taking responsibility for the way he’d treated Manuel, Ronnie, and their mother, and it would end with a promise that he would come clean to her siblings as soon as they disconnected. Furnished with such an apology, Alex decided she could forgive her father and set their relationship on the road to healing.

Of course, reality is often disappointing. In place of a heartfelt expression of deepest regret, Luis delivered a series of excuses which started weak and lost steam from there, until Alex grew so bored that she signed off with a half-hearted “love you too, Dad”. She settled into her chair to stare at the wall until, a few minutes or a few weeks later, May interrupted her reverie with a tentative hand waved in Alex’s peripheral vision.

“Hey,” May said, fiddling with her headset in her hands. “I don’t speak Portuguese, but that sounded intense. Are you all right?”

“Great,” Alex answered, not moving her eyes. “Never better. Never been happier to be here in Atlantian Oceania, half the fucking multiverse away from anyone who shares my blood.”

“I, ah, heard that Plongeon is going to be playing at the royal wedding,” May offered. “I know you like her music. Maybe you’ll get to meet her?”

Alex smiled and turned her gaze to the ceiling, her black curls cascading over the back of her chair. “Maybe,” she said distantly. “Maybe.”

[Brookstation]

STARTING WITH A LOSS
by Richard Wilkenshire

After a disastrous world campaign, Brookstation entered the World Cup with some hopes but being a Brook, I am well aware of why Brooks should never expect anything when it comes to sports. Brookstation faced the Rushmori nation, Nyowani Kitara, a country which has been in the news for a long time.

Brookstation's debut match of the Cup of Harmony in the Licentian Isles didn't turn out to be the ideal start to any tournament as the team lost by a margin of only one goal once again, continuing the much disliked streak from the World Cup. Having quite similar jerseys, Brookstation decided to go ahead with their black and pink one instead which didn’t change the outcome in anyway though. Nyowani Kitara were the obvious favourites of the match as it is a country which has shown their excellence in the field of football even after going through difficult times, by finishing second in their World Cup Qualifiers group which included the likes of Rushmori giants Sargossa and Eura and Chromatika. As much as I liked to see the smile on the faces of the Kitarans, the more disappointed I was to see the look of despair and disparity on the faces of our very own squad. This defeat also dealt another blow to the position of Soham Misra as the coach of Brookstation.
The referee blew his whistle when all twenty two players took their positions and started chasing the ball. Nyowani Kitara were dominant for most of the match but Brookstation tried to find their chances in between. For instance, at one point of time in the 16th minute, Brook midfielder de la Vega actually got pretty close and approached the goal fiercely before shooting right into the net. It would have definitely been a goal had the ball not gone in the wrong direction. Nyowani Kitara were constantly attacking, barely giving us the chance to advance due to which Brookstation shifted to a defensive style of play for the latter part of the first half which significantly avoided Nyowani Kitara from slaughtering Brookstation. Even if this method was effective to a point, it wasn’t the invincible one. Kitaran midfielder Salem Lagun cruised past the thin line of defense before being marked by Angeles. Fortunately, Lagun found teammate Odede in an unmarked position who shot as soon as he received the ball, scoring the only goal of the match and giving Nyowani Kitara the lead.

The second half was a pretty boring one. By that time, Brookstation had lost all their hopes and their only aim seemed to be to stop Nyowani Kitara from scoring any more goals which they were successful in carrying out. Almost the entire team went to the other side of the central line at one point as well. At times, Brookstation did make an attempt to take up the courage to go forward but none of them were actually successful. Nyowani Kitara had much more chances on the other hand and Brookstation actually had their foes, ‘luck’ on their side to protect themselves from sheer embarrassment. Nyowani Kitara had around 10 shots on target but most of them barely went past and one also hit the very crossbar. It must be admitted that Lance Logan did a brilliant job at handling the goal. Well, time didn’t wait for anyone and with one goal in hand, Nyowani Kitara managed to win their first match.

Brookstation is now up against Valentine Z who had an impressive run for the World Cup and more importantly they had upset the top team (Huelavia) in our group. Although, there seems to be no chance of Brookstation winning, always remember that miracles do happen sometimes.